


Roommates | Cashton

by xdistorted_cliffordx



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, 5SOS - Freeform, Calum Hood & Ashton Irwin Friendship, Cashton, College AU, Gay, LGBT, Luke Hemmings & Calum Hood Friendship, M/M, bottom!Ashton, nerdy ashton, top!Calum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 22:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 68,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17292848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdistorted_cliffordx/pseuds/xdistorted_cliffordx
Summary: Also on my Wattpad account: @1D_HarryStyles_1D  :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Calum Hood was the stereotypical jock in high school. He was the star of the football team and basketball team. The majority of his old classmates loved him, envied him, or wanted to be him. Now that he was at the University of Melbourne on a football scholarship, he was hoping to reach that status yet again. He wasn't going to university for the classes and academics; he was going to pursue his career in football. He wasn't a lame geek that was going to spend his weekends studying and doing boring homework that wouldn't benefit him. He wasn't going to let those nerds annoy him with their smarts either like he did in high school. Not to mention that he was a full-blooded frat boy. Classes and grades and nerds weren't about to get in his way of that. 
> 
> Ashton Irwin was considered a nerdy hipster. He was more into the arts and academics of things, his strong suit being English and art history. Not only that, but he had a passion for music as well. He was a talented singer that helped get him a full ride scholarship to the University of Melbourne, along with his exceptional knowledge in English. Though, he wasn't at all popular in high school. He was quite the opposite and he was okay with it. He didn't want to be popular and have his every move analyzed. It also meant that he would've had to hangout with the jocks, who he didn't like at all. Now, due to his uni class schedule, he would be free of the majority of the jocks and hopefully frat boys. They were bullies and he didn't want to have to be associated with any of them. He would make sure of that. 
> 
> But, despite what Ashton and Calum think, life isn't fair sometimes and you have to live with the hand you're dealt. Literally.

Calum looked out the car window at the campus before him, a small smile on his face. He was finally here. His dream of playing football at the University of Melbourne had finally come true and it was all starting to feel real. It was so surreal that he had just been wandering the halls of his private high school and now he was a freshman at his dream university. It wasn't like he hadn't expected to get into Melbourne because his grades were nearly a 4.0 because he paid his best friend to do it for him. He just had never thought that he would get that far. 

"Close your mouth, sweetie. You're drooling," Joy giggled from the front seat, knocking Calum back into reality. 

"I wasn't drooling, mum," Calum denied, though he most likely was. 

"This campus is the most beautiful thing. It makes me want to go back," David said and then laughed. "Do you mind if I go to school with you, Cal? We could be roomies." 

"I mean, if you want, go for it. But I'm going to be moving into a fraternity soon," Calum told him, even if he knew that his dad was just joking.

"So you're going to be one of those douche bag frat boys that is only in uni for the booze and girls? I should've guessed you would be," his older sister Mali scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

"No, he's not going to be the stereotypical frat boy. He's going to be a good student that lives in a fraternity, does his work, and plays his football. I'm not paying for you to come here and goof around, Calum. I'm paying for you to get a good and solid education so you can be successful in life," David stated sternly, his eyes narrowing at Calum in the rearview mirror. 

"Dad, you know that I'm going to become a professional footballer. Coach said that I had potential. Don't you remember that he brought that scout all the way from Brazil to watch?! He was impressed, but wanted to watch again in college when I would be of age," Calum told him, gushing about his hopes and dreams. 

"And apparently my head is in the clouds. At least I have a somewhat solid record deal," Mali smarted. 

"You know, if you would bother to go to one of my games, you would know that I'm very good at what I do and my dreams aren't that out of reach. I could be going to  _Brazil,_ Mali. And you'll back home in Sydney, wishing that you would've believed me while bathing in your own tears because your record label is jacked and won't get you anywhere," Calum snapped. 

"Calum Thomas! Mali didn't bash your dreams, that doesn't give you any right to crush hers! She has every bit of chance of making her dreams successful as you do," Joy scolded. "Now, can we please not argue anymore? I don't want to leave you here with the last family conversation being a fight."

Everyone in the vehicle went quiet, not wanting to protest Joy's request. Calum knew that she was an emotional wreck, despite her positivity and wide smile. She was leaving her baby boy at a college that was across the country. Even with Mali being older, she had only went to uni in Sydney, so she wasn't as far from home. Calum wasn't within an ten minute drive of his parents - it was more or less ten hours. 

It was a big step for anyone to be leaving to university and being that far away from home fresh out of school. But Calum felt that he was ready to be independent and start working on his life. Plus, if he were going to be getting signed to a professional football team, he was going to have to be over a continent away from his family. Better to start getting used to it now rather than later. 

David found a parking spot that was close to Calum's temporary dorm building and pulled in. The Hood family all got out of the vehicle in silence, going to the trunk of the car to start getting his things out and up to his room. 

"Do you have your room information, Cal? Maybe you should go tell the advisers that you're here," Joy asked, wanting to make sure that her son got the key before they hauled everything out onto the pavement. 

Calum did as his mother said and went to the long table that was outside of the building where three college age girls were going. This is what he was talking about. They smiled when they noticed him approaching, in which he responded with a smile and flirtatious yet cool nod. 

"Hi! Welcome to U of M. What can I help you with?" the brunette girl asked him. She was sturdier than the other two, but she was still pretty nonetheless. 

"Yeah, I was just wondering if I could get the key to my room," Calum told her. 

"Definitely! I'll need your first and last name."

"Calum Hood, 888-959-8548," he said with a smile and wink. The girl looked up at him in confusion, quirking her eyebrows. "Try calling it sometime."

"Um, well. Okay, I'll definitely pretend that I never heard that," she said awkwardly, looking back down at her paper as she searched for Calum's name.

Calum stood awkwardly, not touched by her rejection. She wasn't his type anyway. He was more into girls that were petite because they didn't have as much emotional baggage as this chick would because of her weight. He wasn't going to deal with a girl who would sit and cry about being fat while she sat and stuffed her face with ice cream and an extra large pizza. 

"Here you are. Room 343 on the third floor," she said, handing him his key and a small stack of papers with a tight smile. 

He didn't bother saying thank you or anything and went back to his family to help them haul in his belongings. 

\----

Calum didn't think that he had brought as much stuff as he did. It took all of his family at least three trips each to make sure that everything was in the dorm room that wasn't as big as Calum would've liked, but would do. A plus to the situation was that he could put his things on his roommate's bed because they hadn't yet shown up. He was going to definitely use the bed as a makeshift shelf to his advantage. 

"Do you need any help unpacking? Do you want me to hang your posters?" Joy asked, peppering her son with questions. 

"Nah, I'm good. I can do it while I wait for my roomie," Calum told her. 

She gave him a sad smile and stepped towards him with her arms open. Calum sat up and opened his arms for the mother to fall into. His family wasn't really touchy-feely and they didn't give a lot of hugs, but whenever they did, Calum always loved hugging Joy. She was one who would give bear hugs and make the receiver feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. He was going to miss the leisure of being able to get them at whatever time, but at the same time, he was excited because that meant that he would get more when he went home to visit. 

"I'm going to miss you, baby boy," Joy said quietly in his ear, squeezing her son tighter. She let go and looked at her husband. Calum could tell that she was about to cry. "I'm going to go down and wait in the car."

David gave her the car keys, most likely figuring that she wanted to go down and cry in her own privacy. Soon enough, she left the room and left David, Mali, and Calum alone in the rather small dorm room. After a few minutes, David spoke up to say his goodbyes. 

"Son, I always dreamed that you'd be going here and I'm glad yours and my dreams have come true. Next time I see you, I expect to see a victory and a record number of goals kicked for this place. You never know, your pro football career might actually happen if you become as amazing as you were in high school," David said with a proud smile on his face. "I have no doubt that you will, Cal."

The two men gave each other an awkward father-son hug, one that Calum hasn't had since his goldfish Pebbles died when he was thirteen. It was a long awaited gesture that both Calum and David were going to need in order to be okay with being apart from each other for that long. 

"I'm going to go down and check if your mum's okay. You know how emotional she got with Mali. I can't imagine how she is with you," he snickered. He was joking, but at the same time, it was true. "Also, I don't want to get a call saying that you're being a troublesome kid. Focus on your football and studies, boy."

"Got it, dad."

Mali was looking around the room at everything except Calum and was standing nervously. Mali put up a tough girl front and acted as if she weren't one to show emotion or have any feeling at all. But Calum knew his sister better than anyone - better than herself, even. He could see that she was near the verge of tears. That didn't happen to her very often that Cal saw, but when it did, she had a hell of a time keeping it a secret. 

"Mal, are you okay?" Calum asked suddenly, her head snapping towards her younger brother. 

Calum looked at her brown eyes, seeing that they were brimming with tears. She tried to make her face look like she was just as normal acting as always, but it wasn't working. "I'm fine. Just admiring this little janitor's closet of yours. Do you know who your roomie is?" 

"Nope. They wouldn't tell me."

"He's going to be one unfortunate son of a bitch since he has to live with you for nine months," she scoffed, trying to create her normal banter. 

Without another word from either Calum or Mali, Cal got up from his comfortable spot on the bed and went over to his sister, wrapping his arms around her shorter frame. Whenever the siblings would share hugs, it would be Mali hugging Calum from behind. It had always been that way, ever since they were kids. Whereas now, the tables had turned and it was Calum hugging Mali from behind. It had always made Cal feel warm and loved, so he was hoping that his hug was making his older sister the same way. 

As the two were hugging each other and expressing their goodbyes without any words, Mali started to shake slightly as she cried. Calum had never really thought that he would see the day that his sister would cry over him and being away from him. He thought that she would be jumping for joy and would be ecstatic that he was no longer going to be within a fifty mile radius of her. 

"Are you crying, Mali Koa Hood?" Calum asked with a smirk as he broke the hug and turned her around. 

She swooped underneath her eyes to remove the tears and any of the makeup that had ran with them. "I'm not crying. My eyes are leaking."

"You're crying! You're not going to see me for a few months and you're crying about it! I've never felt more accomplished in my life!" Cal teased, a wide grin on his face. 

"You really know how to ruin a moment," Mali giggled, tears still slowly streaming down her cheeks. 

"You're going to miss me, don't deny it."

Mali gave an over dramatic eye roll. "I have to admit that I will miss annoying you and calling you a pest. But you're my little brother and I want to protect you, but I'm not going to be here to do that, but I know that you can do it because you're a big boy. And if your crazy dreams of becoming this stud footballer come true, I'm going to have to get used to you being somewhere else and being able to defend yourself. I have so much faith in you, Cal. I do."

He smiled down at his older sister. It meant a lot to him that she had finally said that. Mali had never told him anything close to that and always thought that his footballing dreams were pointless. That and she was never gushy or sappy to him because that would make her look weak and vulnerable. But Calum appreciated it. He wasn't going to hang it over her head, but he was definitely going to remember that for as long as he lived. 

"So, what are you going to do when we're gone?" she wondered. 

"Not a damn clue."

\----

Ashton arrived at the University of Melbourne, smiling as they passed the large clocktower. He shut his copy of War & Peace, figuring that he wasn't about to read anymore. He and his mother had arrived there later than Ashton wanted, but it wasn't a huge deal. It was only five and he was grateful that they had stopped at Grandma Jen's Diner back in Hornsby before he was away from it for months. But as he had told Jen that morning, he would always brag about the small diner to all of his university friends. He would keep his word. 

His mum pulled into a parking space in front of what he assumed was his dorm building. He wasn't too keen on the fact that he was going to have to share a room with a stranger, but hopefully it would be someone that was into art and English like he was. He had to learn to look at the positives of uni. Not the negativity that he had during his high school years. This was his new chapter in life and he was going to whatever he could to make it count. 

"Go check in and I'm going to call the babysitter quickly," his mother said with a smile as she picked up her Android phone from the middle console. 

Ashton got out of the car and went to the table outside of the building. A brunette girl greeted him, a smile on her face. Ashton returned it awkwardly, not the best at talking to people of the opposite gender or just talking to strangers in general. 

"Hi! Welcome to U of M. What can I help you with?" she asked, the lines sounding rehearsed. 

"I'd like to check into my room. Anderson Hall dormitory," Ashton recited to her. "My name is Ashton Irwin, by the way."

The girl grabbed her list and looked over the many names. The long list made Ashton feel slightly uneasy. There was so many people in his building that he would have to see for the next nine months or so. He wasn't a socialization enthusiast in the least. It was proven to him in Year 8 whenever he would try to make a friend. Nobody stuck around for more than a brief time - that time being for the class period. No one seemed to like him or maybe it was because they just didn't understand him. 

He did have one friend throughout his school years and still does. They were best friends and it was a bit devastating to both of them that they were both going to schools that were miles apart, but they had social media that could make communication easier. His name was Chester. He was just as nerdy as Ashton was, especially when it came to mathematics and computers. He was going to a university in Perth to become an IT or a ethical hacker for the Australian government. 

"You're in room 343 on the third floor," the girl told him, handing him his key and a sheet of paper that he assumed were the guidelines and etiquette of the building.

"Thank you," Ashton said with a closed smile. 

"Oh, and your roommate has already checked in. Good luck with him," she said, rolling her eyes. 

"Why is that?" he wondered, cocking his head to the side. This was what he was afraid of and immediately regretted not sparing the extra expense for a single room. 

"I don't want to downgrade him or anything because maybe you two will get along greatly. But I am warning you that he seems like a spitfire. Just...you'll see," the girl warned him, not really giving him any answers. She grabbed a piece of paper from a small stack and scribbled something down on it. She extended her arm out to him, handing him the piece of paper. "If he gets too annoying, you're free to visit my room at any time. I'm on the second floor of this building. My name is Anya." 

Ashton gave her a small smile, appreciating the gesture. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he may have found a potential friend that would keep him company throughout the year. But the one thing that was bothering Ashton was what she had said about his roommate. Hopefully he wasn't as bad as Ashton was beginning to think from the very little bit of vague information that Anya had given him. 

He walked away from the table, the key and paper in his hand. His mum was just hanging up the phone when he approached her vehicle. She had a smile on her face, one she always got when she would talk about her children. For the trip to Melbourne, Ashton's little siblings had to stay back because they were too young and too much hassle to bring along. They didn't really know what was going on either, so it wasn't like they would regret having to stay back. Even so, Ashton made sure that he told them goodbye and gave them extra long hugs before they left that morning.

"Do you have everything that you need?" his mother asked him as she got out of the car. 

"Yes. We can start bringing my things up there. My roommate has also checked in, so I'm not sure whether or not he is up there," Ashton told her. 

"Okay. We can work around him. He can even help if he wants!" she claimed with a smile. "What room are you in?" 

"Room 343 on the third floor."

\----

His roommate turned out to be MIA while Ashton was moving in. Not that Ashton was complaining. As far as he was concerned, his roomie could stay with someone else in a different room. Ashton was just fine staying alone. It wasn't that he didn't like his roommate, but it was more or less the fear of having to share his bedroom with someone. But, judging by the millions of sports - particularly football - posters that were hanging on the wall, Ashton could already assume that he was rooming with the group of people that he was trying to get away from. 

"Ashton, don't worry about who your roommate is. Don't compare him to the high school jocks. University is different. You two could become the best of friends by the end of the semester," Anne told him, sitting next to her oldest son on the bed, rubbing his back.

"Mum, he's just out of high school. The likelihood of him becoming a down to earth jock straight out of school isn't at all likely. I'm not excited," Ashton told her, causing her to frown. 

The two were quiet as they sat on the bed, the sun beginning to set. Anne stood up suddenly, grabbing her purse from Ashton's desk and turned to her son. "Do you need any help putting things up? Decorating of any kind?"

"No. I can do it later. Thank you though," he told her. 

"I better get going if I want to get to the hotel before check-in time is over. I'll see you soon?" she said, somewhat sad. 

"Yes. I'll Facetime you soon. Have a safe trip and tell the little ones to have sweet dreams," Ashton told her, giving his mother one last hug before he would be separated from her for until his first break. 

It was then Ashton was left alone with his thoughts. He debated on starting a book or maybe playing his keyboard, but decided against it. Instead, he plugged his gold iPod into the dock and began playing his calming playlist off of Spotify, U.N.I by Ed Sheeran being the first song to play. He opened one of his boxes that had his decorations from his old room and grabbed his few posters to begin placing them. 

Ashton was quietly singing along to the music when his door opened and a tan boy walked in with a to-go box in one hand and a large soft drink container in the other. The boy looked at him with a confused expression, but just shrugged it off and went to the opposite bed, not giving Ashton's presence much of a thought. 

"I'm guessing you're my roommate?" Ashton spoke up, figuring that he might as well acknowledge him if he was going to be living with him for the next nine months. 

"Yep. Most likely," the black-haired guy said, consuming his cheeseburger rather messily, not even bothering to look at Ashton. "'M Calum. You?"

"Ashton Irwin."

It was then that Calum looked up at Ashton, putting his already half-eaten burger down in the box. He took one look at the wall behind Ashton and cringed in disbelief. 

"Nerd much?" he scoffed. 

"Excuse me?" Ashton asked, getting a sharp edge in his voice. 

"What are those posters even? I didn't think that they even made posters for geeks. They're all lame, no offense," he told him bluntly. 

Ashton's mouth dropped open. "Well, I could say the same to you. You're posters are very lame in my opinion."

"Not as lame as yours, bro," Calum said, raising both of his eyebrows. "You only have, like, one cool poster and that's the Slipknot one. Other than that, they're stupid."

"Well, excuse me for finding beauty in art and literature," Ashton sassed. 

"Why do you have a framed orange paw? You got a hard on for tigers or some shit?" Calum teased rather rudely. 

"For thinking that music posters aren't lame, you certainly don't understand music. That's Ed Sheeran's logo," the wavy haired boy said smartly. 

"You like Ed Sheeran? Are you sure you should even be on this floor?" Calum laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean? Is there a special floor for Ed Sheeran fans?" he asked, confused. 

"Yeah. It's one of the girl floors," Calum snickered. "Seriously, what guy is a fan of Ed Sheeran? Are you gay or something?" 

"A lot of guys are actually. There was a equal ratio at the concert I went to a couple of months ago. And no, I am not. I find that comment very offensive, actually," Ashton said angrily. He had barely known his roommate and already he wanted to move out. 

"Oh, you're one of those politically correct assholes? Whatever. I'm not taking it back," Calum scoffed, grabbing a black pair of Beats headphones and putting it over his ears. He took one out and looked over at Ashton again. "And those guys at that concert were probably all butt buddies."

Ashton's mouth dropped in shock and offense as Calum made a clapped his hands together twice as he referred to gay sex. It was in that moment that Ashton knew that this was going to be a long nine months and he couldn't wait until it was over. 

\----


	2. Chapter 2

Calum was slow walking back to his dorm room. It was only his second day at Melbourne and he already dreaded going back to his room because of that nerdy asshole who thought that he was better than everybody else. He was just happy that the frat houses were going to begin recruiting new pledges within the next forty-eight hours. He was ready to be done and over with that guy. 

He wished that the university would've given him a roomie form like they do for dating sites. That way Calum would be living with someone who had the same interests as him and could potentially be his best bro. That way, he would've maybe thought twice about joining a fraternity or would've tried to convince his roommate to join too. But no, he had to be stuck with a bitchy Albert Einstein. 

As Calum walked down his hallway, he saw that almost all the doors were open, meaning that people were welcomed into the room to try and make friends. Calum thought it was a cool idea and would've totally participated at the moment, but he was too beat from his work out that he just wanted to rest a little bit before going out to sign up for clubs and sports. He half expected his dorm door to be open, but wasn't surprised to see that it was locked up tighter than a popcorn fart. That was another problem he had with the nerd; he was antisocial. 

Calum stuck his key into the keyhole, opening it. Ashton was on his bed, reading what looked to be a text book. The Kiwi rolled his eyes at the nerd as he slid the doorstop over from the corner, propping their heavy door open. Ashton may not have wanted to have friends, but Calum did. He couldn't be stuck with his own mind and Ashton all the time. If he was, he might actually consider suicide. 

"What are you doing?" Ashton snapped, his hazel eyes piercing through his glasses as Calum collapsed on his bed. 

"You're smart. Figure it out," Calum retorted, grabbing his Beats and iPad from the shelf by his futon. It was handy having a futon beneath his top bunk. 

"I know that you propped the door open, but why did you do that? It's closed for a reason," he asked, his voice sounding agitated. 

"Because I, unlike you, am social and like other people and I want to actually make friends. So, if you're so disturbed and upset by having a few people stop by, plug your earphones in and listen to your gay music," Calum sassed, hoping that Ashton would take him up on the offer and let Calum be. 

"It's not gay music, for one. And also, I am a resident of this room, meaning that we both have say in what happens here," Ashton barked, getting up from his place on his bed and shutting the door. "Which means that it has to be a unanimous decision. And it isn't, so if you want to be a social butterfly, then go ahead. Out in the entertainment area, away from me and my studying."

This made Calum's blood boil and made him even angrier than he already was. He didn't want to deal with Ashton anymore and it hasn't even been thirty-six hours. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to handle him any longer, Cal got up and stormed out of the room to go down to the RA's office to complain about his roommate. He was ready to demand a separate single room until he got recruited for frat houses. It may have been a silly complaint, but Calum didn't want to be in a shit mood because of Ashton when the frat recruiters came around. He wanted to have a good first impression on them and didn't want Ashton to influence their decision. 

There was a girl, the same girl that had checked Calum in yesterday. She was watching a Youtube video with two guys blowing up plastic gloves on their heads, her back to the window. If she spends her life watching that, no wonder she's hefty. Calum cleared his throat, not in the mood to stand at the window all day while she watched nonsense videos and watched her thighs grow. 

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't hear yo - oh, hello, um, Caswell was it?" she greeted, almost with an edge in her voice. 

"It's Calum."

"Whatever. Anyway, what do you need?" she asked, irritated that Calum was even in her presence. Not his fault that she wasn't doing her job properly. 

"I need to switch rooms. Like, right away. Is there, like, a single room that I can stay in until the frat houses start recruiting?" he wondered, hoping that the girl would find it somewhere in her heart to let Calum out of that communist hell hole. They say big body, big heart...don't they?

"Why do you need to switch?" she exhaled. 

"Because my roommate is a fucking sadist or Nazi or some shit. By the end of the week, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wearing a fucking war uniform," Calum told her, wanting to find every single excuse he could so he could get out of there before it got worse - even if he had to lie. 

"That isn't enough information. How is he making your life unlivable?" she wondered, grabbing a form from a pile next to a calculator along with a pen. "And please, try to use clean language. I have to turn this in to my boss and I can't have vulgar language filling it up."

"He's controlling, he's an asshole, he doesn't let me live normally and do my own thing. He also discriminates and treats me like I'm not as good as him because I'm a sports enthusiast and not a nerd like him," Calum told her, satisfied that he was making Ashton look like he was the worst roommate on the face of the earth. 

"That's the first I've ever heard that," the girl scoffed. She brought her eyes up to Calum's and had a fake smile plastered on her face. "Is that all of the complaints that you have against Ashton Irwin?"

"Yeah. Give me a few minutes and I'll probably think of more. The past twenty-four hours have been purely Hell," Calum said dramatically. He thought he was pretty convincing, but the RA could see right through him. 

"Well, Calum, I'm afraid to tell you that that isn't probable cause to be separated from your roommate. He's not causing any harm or threatening you in any way, so there is no legit reason for him or you to be removed from your room," the girl smiled. 

"What?! But he  _discriminates_ against me just because I don't read history books and know everything about anything! I thought that this school looked down upon that!" Calum yelled. "I command I be taken or he be taken out of that room! I cannot live with him!" 

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to take that up with the dorm master, Drew Lawley. Unless you get special permission from him, you're to stay in your room until the fraternities begin recruitment," she said with a clap of her hands and an maniacal smile. "I'll go tell him that you need to talk to him and also give him your list of complaints against Mr. Irwin."

The hefty girl got up from her chair and Calum wondered when the last time she walked was since she waddled like a penguin to the closed door inside of the office. Calum was nearly fuming. He knew that just because the girl didn't like him, she was being an asshole about the entire thing. There was no reason that Calum couldn't be transferred into a different room temporarily. It wasn't like he was causing any inconveniences because nobody was using it anyway. And he would still be paying for the rooming anyway - in fact, he would be paying more because he would be paying the double room rates instead of the single room. 

After a long few minutes, the fat girl returned behind the desk followed by who Calum guessed was Drew Lawley. Instead of being a senior at the university like Calum had originally thought, he was a grown man that looked like he should be a teacher instead of a dorm master. Especially when he was wearing a gray suit vest over a blue button up dress shirt and a tie. Maybe the guy was actually a pervert instead of an RA. He was much too old and well dressed to be manning a dorm. 

"Calum Hood, I presume?" Drew Lawley asked him in a Californian accent from behind the desk. Calum nodded, not wanting to go through a round of introductions and just wanted to get to moving his dorm room. "Judging by the form that Anya has given me, I understand that you want to switch rooms already."

"Yeah and I would like it to be done as soon as possible. I can't stand living with that guy for much longer," Calum told him, getting irritated with having to repeat himself. He just wanted to move the fuck out already!

"Being that I don't accept walk-ins because I have my own work to do, I'm going to have to take a look at this just a little later. When I'm done, I'll call you and your roommate and you both can come down here and we can discuss this and get to the bottom of it," Drew told him. 

"Why do you have to talk to him? Why do we have to discuss this even? I hate him, he hates me. What more is there to discuss and get to the bottom of?" Calum asked, his blood beginning to boil. 

"Because he signed up to have a roommate - which happens to be you - and he has say in what is happening in the room. It's part of protocol to get both sides of the story so one student doesn't get in trouble because of a lie that their roommate had reported. And if we can also solve the problem that has arisen, then it will save everyone the hassle of moving and finances and most importantly, relationships between our students," Drew told Calum, who was tuning it out because he wanted to be rid of Ashton  _now._ "Just show up at three and we'll have a chat, yeah?"

\----


	3. Chapter 3

Calum looked down at his expensive watch that his dad had gotten him for Christmas. It was nearly three o'clock - five minutes to to be exact. He hadn't gone back to the dorm room other than to tell Ashton that they had a meeting with the RA at three, so whether or not the guy showed, was beyond Calum. He knew that what he was requesting to do was rather silly since he would be moving out of the dorm room soon anyway, but at the same time, he knew that it was going to be better for him.

He made his way back into the dorm building and over to the counter, which had a sign on the window that read "Out to lunch". Calum just snorted, figuring that eating the restaurant out of house and home was what she was doing. He got to the door, turning the handle and went inside to go to Drew's office. When he got there, he was actually surprised to see Ashton sitting there. He thought that he would've stayed back in the room, just to spite Calum and prevent him from getting what he wanted. Without a word, he took the chair next to Ashton so they could begin the meeting.

"Now, Anya is getting some things printed for me, so we'll wait for her to come back before we start officially. In the meantime, why don't we introduce ourselves?" Drew suggested, turning from his desktop to face them. "My name is Drew Lawley and I'm your dorm adviser."

Both Calum and Ashton were silent, not sure if he was actually serious or if he was just kidding. Either way, neither of the boys wanted to be the first to go. Drew looked between both of them and sighed in disappointment, causing Ashton to speak up.

"I'm, uh, Ashton Irwin and I want to major in either art history or English," Ashton spoke nervously.

"I'm Calum Hood and I want to be a professional footballer," he said with a cocky smile.

Instead of the shocked and speechless responses that he expected to receive, he only got snickers and joking smiles from both Drew and Ashton. His smile fell and he felt a pang of offense in his heart. He was just about to question why they were laughing at his goals and was going to accuse both of them of discriminating or something to that effect, but fatsy walked into the office, interrupting them.

"I have those papers you wanted, Drew," she said as she handed the thin stack to him.

"Thank you, Anya. Now go get some lunch or a coffee or something before the restaurants close before supper," Drew insisted, a playful smile on his face.

"Are you fucking her or something? Because if you are, why? She'd crush you," Calum wondered after Anya left.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hood? That's inappropriate, for one. And two, I am not having an affair with her. She's one of my most dedicated workers in this office that takes pride and passion it what she does," Drew said crisply. "And for coming in here and accusing Ashton of discrimination, you seem to not fall far behind him by inferring that Anya is incapable of having someone because of her weight."

Calum shut up, looking away from Drew's eyes. That was definitely one way to shove a foot in his mouth. Hopefully that wouldn't affect him getting a single room. The three of them sat silently as Drew sorted through and made sure that he had every piece of paper that was needed for the meeting. He set the stack down and rested his elbows on the desk, looking between Ashton and Calum.

"So, we've been called to meet here because Calum came in this afternoon, begging to be switched to a different and single dorm room," Drew began, looking mostly at Ashton, who was for the most part unaware of why he was even sitting in that office. "He's claiming that you were discriminating him from being in the dorm room or being his friend. Do you want to tell me why he's saying that?"

"Well, Mr. Lawley, I'm not discriminating against him. I don't like the type of person he is, that's for sure. We don't get along because we simply have nothing in common and don't get along. There's nothing that I have done that would even seem remotely discriminatory," Ashton told him, not sounding nervous or anything.

"That's bullshit! You won't let me listen to my music and you judge me for it, I can't leave the dorm door open to meet friends that aren't like you, and you don't like me because I'm a jock and love sports. In fact, you make fun of me for wanting to become a professional footballer," Calum snapped.

"Mr. Hood, I'm afraid that isn't considered discrimination. For one, Ashton may not like the same type of music as y-"

"Yeah, he likes that gay crap like Ed Sheeran," Calum scoffed. "But he can play that shit as loud as he wants because apparently he makes the rules."

"That's discrimination," Ashton piped in.

"You're right, Ashton," Drew agreed, causing Calum to roll his eyes. "Anyhoo, you don't have to leave the door open because Ashton might have been studying or doing something and wasn't ready to meet anyone. And from what I have witnessed from you, Calum, is that he doesn't like you because you're not giving him any reason to. I personally am not liking you either."

"He didn't want the damn door open because he can't socialize properly! He's inept at socialization! But ever since I came into the dorm, he hated me and that's because he knew I liked sports just by my posters. He's the one who is discriminating! I demand to move into my own temporary room!" Calum yelled angrily.

"That's our next topic, Mr. Hood," Drew said with a smile. "There is a few single rooms available in the upperclassmen building, but being you didn't - and couldn't - sign up for them at the time of room assignments, they're going to cost five hundred extra."

"Price doesn't matter. My parents will understand," Calum claimed, putting his hands up.

"Don't get your hopes up, Hood," Drew warned. "As I look at your files and list of ridiculous complaints and have listened to your case, I have no choice but to refuse your request. You're not allowed to move out of this dorm because of your grades being poor and several notes from your high school teachers saying that you weren't that good of a student. Also, you seem to be very discriminatory towards others and that's just judging by what I've heard come out of your mouth since you've come in here. Melbourne has a strict no-tolerance policy for discrimination - or at least, I do. That being said, you're not allowed to move out of this dormitory until further notice."

Calum was speechless, not believing a word that he was hearing. "What about a frat house?! I'm supposed to get pledged into one!"

"Definitely not a frat house. Your grades are terrible now. If you were to join a frat house, they would become even more horrific and you would probably end up getting kicked out of university all together," Drew told him. He turned to Ashton. "So, Ashton, being that you're the only eligible one in this bunch to move into the single room or a fraternity, are you interested?"

"As nice as it would be to get away from this toxin, I can't afford to move into a single room. I'd also rather not join a fraternity since I'm not really a people-person. I wouldn't survive the pledging challenges," Ashton told him.

"Very well then. It was nice meeting you, Ashton," Drew said, standing up and shaking Ashton's hand. He turned to Calum with a small grimace on his face. "I'd say the same for you, but it hasn't been at all a pleasure."

\----

Ashton followed Calum out of Drew's office, both amused and unsatisfied with the results of it. He had enjoyed watching Calum get told he couldn't do something and not being able to get what he wanted, but it was a friendly reminder that he now had no choice but to spend the next nine months with that buffoon. Once they were out of the office and back into the main lobby, Calum took off in a separate direction, thankfully. Ashton planned on going back to the dorm room and doing what he had been doing to start out with. As he was making his way towards the stairs, he was stopped by Anya.

"So, did he get what he wanted?" she asked, a coffee in her hands.

"Nope. He can't move out of this dormitory," Ashton told her. "Not even to one of his beloved frat houses."

"Well, I'm glad that he didn't get what he wanted, but I'm sorry that you are stuck living with him," Anya said with a small smile.

"Don't be. I'm sure I can learn to live with it," he shrugged.

"I have about forty-five minutes left on my break. Do you want to hang out for a bit?" she asked.

Ashton thought about it for a minute. He wasn't very good at making friends, but she seemed not to mind him so far. "That would be fine. Where are we going?"

"We can sit out here or go back to one of our rooms. I wouldn't recommend mine though. My roommate is rather...boisterous," she giggled.

"Mine is open, I suppose. Calum took off in a separate direction. Do you like Ed Sheeran by chance?" Ashton asked as they began walking towards the stairs.

"Yes! I love Ed! He's one of my very favorites," she cooed.

When they got to Ashton's room, the two sat down on the bed. Anya was admiring the posters and decor that Ashton had on his side of the room. Unlike Calum, she was actually interested in what Ashton liked and asked him about it instead of calling it all lame. They just sat and talked like two normal human beings, laughing and talking about music and English. Ashton had actually found a lot about Anya, like the fact that she was also majoring in English and she was a relative of Dalton Rapattoni. Ashton only knew of him from Disney Dudez, but he had apparently entered an American singing competition - a spin off of Australian Idol.

"Really? You know, I was actually going to compliment you or something, but your taste in women has officially gone down," Calum blurted, interrupting their conversation.

"Excuse me?" Anya asked with a sassy tone in her voice.

"Nobody was talking to you. Go stuff your face," he insulted.

"Do you think that you have any right to come in here and insult her like that?" Ashton asked, not flattered that his shitty roommate was insulting his new friend.

"Are you offended? Because that's too bad," Calum scoffed. "Get the fuck out of my room, fat cakes."

Ashton glanced at Anya, seeing that her eyes were brimming tears. He put his arm around her back and gave her an awkward side hug as he whispered in her ear. "Why don't I walk you back downstairs?"

She nodded and the two stood up. Ashton shot Calum a glare, but the boy didn't notice. Instead, Ashton walked Anya out of the room and down to her floor. It was devastating that he couldn't even have a friend because Calum would make sure to make an entrance and ruin any chances he had with people. When they got to Anya's door, Ashton grabbed her arm, causing her to turn around.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about Calum. You're not what he says you are because I see you as a beautiful person. Don't listen to him, okay? He's jealous of you," Ashton said with a sad smile.

"Thank you, Ashton. It was really nice getting a chance to talk to you," Anya smiled, her eyes still slightly wet from the few tears she had shed. "I hope we can do it again sometime? You're a really neat person."

Ashton couldn't believe his ears. Someone actually liked him and thought he was cool instead of annoying and a prick. That didn't happen to him that often. "Certainly. We can bond over Ed Sheeran some more."

\----


	4. Chapter 4

Calum woke up, smiling at the Katy Perry poster that was taped above his bed. He had the most wonderful dream that he was in a frat house with tons of friends, girls surrounding him...everything that he had ever dreamed of. He only frowned when he remembered that he was stuck in a dorm room with bitchy Albert Einstein, but that's when he also realized that he was actually alone in room. There wasn't any Ed Sheeran or gay music playing, there wasn't an annoying lump in the bed across from him...had Calum's dreams come true of Ashton just disappearing? 

Kicking off the blankets, Calum got up and went to his small dresser to grab out the clothes that he was planning on wearing for the day. Before he got dressed, he plugged in his phone and began playing his music, turning it up because it may be the only time that he would be allowed to listen to All Time Low without getting bitched at. 

He looked in the mirror, satisfied with the change up of looks. Instead of wearing his hoodie and athletic shorts, he was in a sweater and skinny jeans. Definitely a nice and comfortable change. Calum felt more comfortable and put together when he actually tried to look like he was human. 

The only reason that he chose to actually try was because it was the day of meeting his new soccer team for the newbie team dinner. They had had tryouts a few days before Calum had arrived to Melbourne, but he didn't have to worry because he had already gotten accepted onto the team. The only reason being was that the couch had made the special trip to Sydney to both a practice scrimmage and the NWCC Bear's rivalry game against the Richmond Oilers.

Now that tryouts were over and results were posted, the coach got the team together as tradition so everyone could meet one another and become acquainted before they went out on the field. Calum thought it was awesome and was excited to meet his new squad. He was always good with people, so he was going to be great at this. Hopefully, he would become tight with the captains and be able to get away with shit - like moving into a frat - without having to worry about getting in trouble. That's how it was in Year 12. 

As he brushed his hair so it was perfect, the door open and Ashton walked in. He gave Calum a glare, in which the Kiwi boy gladly returned. He was going to be out of the room momentarily. It was perfect timing. 

"Could you be ever so kind and turn down your music?" Ashton requested, an edge to his voice. 

"What? You have something against All Time Low? Oh, I suppose they're not gay enough for you," Calum sassed, not giving a shit. 

He heard Ashton's bed creak and before Calum could turn away from his mirror to see what was happening, the music was off. That fired Calum up.  _Nobody_ turns Calum's music down without his permission. He whipped around, facing Ashton, who was looking at him and trying to look like a hard ass, but it wasn't working. 

"Did I say you could touch my phone or my speakers?" Calum snapped, ready to fight his twiggy roommate if it came down to it.

"No. I requested  _nicely_ if you could turn it down, which you refused to do, so I took matters into my own hands. I apologize for the inconvenience," Ashton snarled. 

"I don't care if we live together or not. I don't have to live by your rules. I can do what I want. I didn't leave my mother just to come to another one," the Kiwi sneered. 

"I didn't leave a school full of imbeciles just to come live with one," Ashton shot back. 

"You're really asking for me to kick your weak arse, aren't you?" Calum prompted as he crossed his arms across his chest. 

"Oh, really? I'm irritating you?  _You're_ irritating me! Your constant harassment of me, the derogatory names you use towards people, you're terrible attitude!? Everything about you irritates me and  _I_ want to take it upon myself and kick your arse! I've never dreaded to come home so bad! You're a horrible person, Calum. I honestly have no idea how you were ever popular wherever it is you're from," Ashton spat, his face red as he fumed. 

"I'm not a terrible person - I just know how to talk and deal with people, unlike you. The only reason that I insult you is because-"

"You think that you're better than everyone else? Excuse me for refusing to fall into your twisted way of thinking. I've got some news for you, Calum. You're not any better than anyone at this university. Just because you're so great in footie doesn't mean that anyone has to bow down at your feet. If you were such an amazing player, shouldn't you be playing professionally instead of coming here? You're certainly not the education type, so I can't imagine that you're coming here to have something to fall back on when your footie career would come to a close," Ashton vented.

"I am better than you because as soon as the scout from Brazil comes to one of the games here and sees how good I am, I'm out of here. You're stuck here learning useless shit that's not going to get you anywhere in life," Calum spat, grabbing his devices angrily. 

"Where do you think you're going? We're in the middle of a conversation!" Ashton yelled as Calum went to leave the room.

"I'm going to go talk to people that understand me and won't waste my time like you are," Calum answered, closing the door harshly as he hurried to the restaurant the team was meeting at.

\---- 

Calum saw the coach as soon as he walked into the quaint pizza place. He imagined that all of the boys that were already sitting and joking with each other were the upperclassmen of the team. It would only make sense since the freshmen didn't yet know anyone yet. At least Calum didn't. 

"Mr. Hood!" the coach greeted as soon as he noticed Calum approaching the table. "Welcome! It's good to see you as apart of the team. In case you forgot from when we first met, I'm coach Reeves."

"Hi, coach. Obviously, I'm Calum," Calum said, shaking the coach's hand firmly. "Do I just have a seat anywhere?"

"Wherever you like," the coach told him. 

Calum glanced at the long table, his eyes landing on the empty chair between two guys that looked to be upperclassmen or maybe even the captains. They were laughing and joking obnoxiously, reminding Calum of his old teammates and the team dinners they used to have. The players didn't seem to notice or acknowledge Calum when he took a seat in the chair. It didn't bother Calum much, but for the first time in his life, he felt like he was the most awkward person in the world. He decided that instead of trying to initiate conversation, he was just going to keep quiet until the dinner actually started. 

About ten minutes after Calum had arrived, all of the team had arrived and the coach was finally going to get their attention. "Alright, team. Welcome to the first team dinner of the 2016 season. This year, I expect to win the final cup. We've got some fresh talent in the newbies, including Calum Hood, who has already been checked out and considered by the Brazilian footie team during his twelfth year, so you upperclassmen better feel threatened because  _none_ of you have been scouted by professional footie teams coming into uni."

As the team clapped for his accomplishment, Calum smiled proudly. Now that his talent had been publicized, he felt that he would have no problem becoming tight with the new captains and maybe even being named one as the season were to go on. He had all the faith in the world. 

After the coach's speech was finished, the waitress came to take their orders. Everyone on the team - including the freshmen - was much more chatty than they had been just minutes prior. Calum listened and laughed along as everyone on his end told old team stories and cracked jokes. 

"So, you're like a prodigy or something?" 

Calum turned around as he felt the nudge in his back. The boy behind him was a blonde with a lip ring. His shoulders were broad and he looked like he could be potentially dangerous on the field. Perfect person for Calum to get close with. "Well, I guess you could say that."

"Luke Hemmings," he said, shoving his hand towards Calum.

"Calum Hood," Calum responded. "Are you an upperclassmen?"

"Yep. Junior. I'm in the running to be a captain this year," Luke told him. It was now apparent to Calum that he needed to become tight with this fellow if he were to become captain.

"When do we find out who the captains are?" Calum wondered casually.

"Tonight. It'll be our way of saying grace, actually. That's how it works every year," Luke told him. 

"Cool, cool. Well, best of luck," he told the blonde.

"Thanks. I'm pretty confident I'll get it," Luke shrugged, as if he were named the captain of a team every day. 

He was Calum's kind of guy. 

\----

Ashton was still fuming and it had been an hour since Calum had left to go to whatever footie event the team was hosting. It took everything in Ashton's being not to get up from the bed and trash his roommate's side of the room. He had never been as angry as he was before. There wasn't ever really a time that he had had to stand up for himself and his friend until Calum. So far, Ashton didn't like it because it kept his anger boiling so much that he had to sit in the corner of his bed with his relaxation playlist on in the background as he glared across the room, trying to avoid imagining how he wanted to suffocate Calum in his sleep that night. 

What made him lose his train of thought was a knock on the door. Taking a minute to regain himself, Ashton got up from the bed and went to the door. The wavy haired boy opened it a crack to see who it was and pleasantly smiled when he recognized that it was Anya. 

"Hey, Ash," she greeted.

"Hello. What are you doing here? Not to sound rude," Ashton chuckled.

"Well, my roomie told me that the footie team was at some stupid team dinner and that meant that you were alone, so I was wondering if you would like to come out with her and I to get something to eat," Anya proposed. 

Ashton nodded slightly. "That sounds wonderful. Anything to get my mind off the jerk I have to live with."

"You've been sitting in here thinking about him? Why?" Anya asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"We got into a disagreement before he left and I've been stewing ever since," Ashton told her. "It's nothing, really. Let me grab my things quickly. Do you want to come in?"

"It's not really a big deal. I can wait out here," the girl said. 

Ashton left the door open and ran to his desk to grab his essential items. He turned all of the lights off and made sure that the door was locked before he turned to go with Anya to get her roommate from her room. 

"She's not the female version of Calum, is she?" Ashton wondered.

"Oh, of course not. I wouldn't still be rooming with her, let alone inviting her to dinner," Anya laughed. 

Ashton was somewhat looking forward to meeting Anya's roommate. It meant that he would be making more friends and would actually have an excuse or an escape when Calum would get overbearing. It was certainly more friends than he had back in high school. He wasn't going to turn them down. It was a nice and new experience. 

"Just wait out here. It's a bit messy inside," Anya giggled and blushed. 

Ashton just nodded and leaned against the wall, pushing his glasses up. In a way, he felt that he wasn't dressed good enough for the occasion, being that he was in a hoodie and his hair was a bit messy from the day. Anya didn't say anything about his appearance, so he couldn't help but assume that he looked okay. As long as they didn't go to a five star restaurant, he would feel confident in his apparel choices. 

Anya came out of the room a few minutes later, accompanied by a blonde girl with a beautiful smile. Her eyes landed on Ashton, the smile growing larger as she stuck out her hand. "You must be the infamous Ashton that Anya has told me so much about!" 

"That I am," Ashton said, shaking the brown eyed girl's hand firmly. "You must be the roommate I've heard about a time or two."

"Yep! I can't believe she hasn't told you my name!" the girl said, faking shock as her brown eyes grew wide. "My name is Bryana."

"Lovely to meet you," Ashton nodded. 

"Are you bringing your roomie with us?" Bryana asked Ashton as Anya locked up the room. 

"No. He's at the footie dinner. He wouldn't deserve to come along anyway," Ashton scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

Bryana looked confused. "I take it he's not the dream roomie you wanted?"

"No."

The three walked to the restaurant, all of them talking and getting to know each other better than they already did. Ashton liked hanging out with the two girls. They were both very sweet and included Ashton into the conversation, acting as if they knew him for years. That made Ashton feel good inside - he felt wanted. 

"So, where are we planning on going?" Bry asked the two.

"I'm not very picky," Ashton shrugged.

"What about the pizza place? They have really amazing chicken alfredo pizza that you two would die over," Anya suggested. 

"Well, I can't say no to a good pizza, so count me in," Bryana laughed. 

They continued to the pizza place. There was quite a few cars in front of it, which was weird according to Anya. They didn't think anything of it as they walked into the establishment. It gave a cozy feeling to Ashton; the walls dark brick and the lights were lanterns. There was even a small fireplace that looked like one of the fireplaces in an old fashioned log cabin. 

The waiter brought the group to their table. Ashton went to sit down, but when he looked up his mouth nearly fell open. A few tables over, his eyes landed on the one and only Calum Hood. Quickly, he glared at the lad when they made eye contact and plopped down in his chair. No matter what he did, he couldn't get away from the douche bag.

\----


	5. Chapter 5

Calum could feel Ashton's stares as he sat and ate his pizza, trying to include himself into the conversation of his fellow teammates. He couldn't help but wonder why the hell the kid was at the same restaurant with his fat friend and some other girl that was actually really hot and didn't deserve to be hanging out with those two. Calum kept in mind that he needed to question Ashton on who that beautiful blonde girl was. 

A nudge on his knee tore him out of his thoughts and he looked over to see that Luke was beckoning his attention. Calum finished chewing his bit of pizza and looked at the blue-eyed boy. "Yeah?"

"You wanna come get a beer at the bar with me?" Luke asked. 

"Um, sure," Calum responded. He'd never really drank before...in a bar that is. He didn't know what to order and usually just drank whatever was available at parties...which was usually hard liquors. Calum didn't want to jeopardize his place on the team with having a shot. 

The two walked past Ashton and company to get to the bar and Calum did his best to avoid the awkward eye contact with Ashton because he didn't want Luke to know that he was associated with the geek. But he did make sure to have a second look at his hot friend. Hell, if he had to use Ashton to get with her, then it was worth it. 

Once they were at the bar, Luke ordered both of their beers, telling the bartender that it was on Coach Reeves' tab. Luke turned and looked around. "Do you see that blonde girl over there with the larger girl and the guy?" 

"Yeah," Calum responded. "She's an angel."

"You should go talk to her," Luke pointed out. Calum looked at him confused. "What? Haven't you ever talked to a female before?"

"Well, yeah. They used to crowd around me back home," Calum stated arrogantly.

"Then go talk to her. She's not any different. She probably just looks like more of a goddess than the ones you're used to," Luke smirked. "Let's put it this way. If you don't do it, I will."

"Challenge accepted, mate," Calum chuckled, giving Luke a pat on the shoulder. "Keep my beer cold."

As much as Calum wanted to avoid Ashton's table, he wanted to show Luke that he was fearless and talking to girls wasn't a new thing. Hopefully, the blonde would swoon and he'd get a date within five minutes. That would make Luke worship Calum. It did back in high school. Calum started walking towards the table, his eyes on the blonde. It wasn't until he was a few feet away that she looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes. She gave him a dazzling smile and then Fatty and Ashton turned to look at him, but Calum just ignored the duo's looks of disgust.

"Well, I thought I saw something beautiful in here," Calum said, leaning against the table. 

"Oh, well, thank you," the blonde giggled. 

"What's your name, blondie?" he asked smoothly with a smirk on his face.

"I'm Bryana Holly. And you might be?" Bryana told him, pushing her smooth blonde hair out of her face. 

"I'm Calum Hood. Tell me, would it be in my stars to be able to get to know you better?" Calum flirted. 

"As in a date?" she asked. 

"If you want to call it that, then yes," Calum smirked. 

"Depends on when, but I can give you my number," she suggested, grabbing the clean napkin and then a pen out of her purse. She scribbled something down and then gave it to Calum with another bright white smile. "Let me know when, alright?" 

"Certainly will. Thanks, doll face," Calum said and then strode away from the table. He waved the napkin in the air so Luke could see and the blonde boy gave him a look of disbelief. 

"I can't believe you. Something as fine as that agreed to go out with you?" Luke chuckled. 

"She knows what she's signing up for," Calum smirked. 

Luke went to say something, but was interrupted by Coach Reeves. "Oi, boys! We're going to announce captains! Get your arses over here!"

The two grabbed their beers from the bar and made their way back over to the table. Calum looked over to Ashton's table once more, catching Bryana winking at him (in which he gladly returned) along with a hateful glare from his oh so lovely roommate. Hopefully he could find a loophole and move out of that dorm room into a place where he was with people that had the same type of mindset as him - like Luke. 

The two sat down in their vacated seats and the entire team quieted down. It was the moment Calum was waiting for, even if he wasn't in the running to be a captain. He just wanted to know who he had to befriend in order for his university footie career to be as smooth and beneficial as possible. He was determined to be Coach Reeves' favorite. That way, he could get all the scouts from major teams around the world. At this point, he didn't even care if it was Brazil or not. As long as he made it in the major leagues, he would be happy as a clam.

"The time has come where I will be announcing this season's captains. Now, I want you to keep in mind that there is nothing personal against any of you who were eligible but didn't make it. The boys I chose to run this team have leadership, determination, and overall spirit that I feel is just right for this team. There were a lot of great choices, but I could only fill three spots this year," Coach Reeve's told everyone, sounding as if he had rehearsed it. 

"Get on with it, Reeves!" one of the players shouted. Calum was happy someone said it because he wasn't about to jeopardize his chances of the coach liking him. 

"Alright, alright, calm down. This year's team captains are as follows: Luke Hemmings, Dayton Crescent, and Seth Marley," Coach read from a small piece of paper. "Congratulations, boys. I expect you to run this team successfully and lead us to another championship. Is that a deal, captains?"

"Yes, sir," the three respond in sync.

"Alright, bring it in, boys. On three," Coach ordered. Everyone scooted in closer to the table, putting their arms towards the middle. That moment was one that fired Calum up. It brought him so much happiness and goose bumps when his team would do a chant. It would always help him play his best and, of course, win the game. "One...two...three..."

"BOARS, BOARS, BOARS!" the team yelled, filling the restaurant with noise. 

Luke turned to Calum, an excited expression on his face. "I'm captain, man! It's my duty now to officially welcome you to the team."

Calum took his outstretched hand, giving it a firm shake. "Thanks for the warm welcome, captain. It's going to be a hell of a season."

"Fuck yeah it is," Luke told him. "If you're as good as they say you are, there is no doubt that we're going to be the champions and get the final cup."

Calum smirked to himself. He was already a third of the way friends with the captains. He had no doubt in his mind that he was going to appeal to the other two. If not by his personality, it would be by his talent because Calum was the next thing to a professional. He had the Brazilian scout's attention for God's sake. If he kept up his amazing play, he would be out of Melbourne and into the league in no time. 

\----

"What are you talking about? He seems like a sweet guy," Bryana defended. 

"Calum Hood and sweet do not belong together. He is a narcissistic jerk that couldn't care less about anyone other than himself," Ashton warned her. "Please listen to me, Bry. You deserve someone that is obsessed with loving  _you_ instead of himself."

"Ashton, it's really sweet of you to give all these warnings and everything when you barely know me, but I can read people. I'll go out with him once and if I get a bad vibe from him, then I'll drop him," Bryana told Ashton. "Besides, you haven't lived with him that long to know whether or not he's actually an asshole."

"You don't have to live with him to know that he's an ass," Anya piped in.

"What are you saying?" Bryana asked, confused.

"He's the one that was harassing me at freshman check-in and in Lawley's office," Anya told her. "He also accused Ashton of discriminating against him for nothing. Personally, Bry, I wouldn't give the douche the light of day, but that's just because of my experience. You're hot and apparently his type. We're just giving you a heads up that he's probably not who he's going to make himself out to be."

Bryana was quiet and Ashton could tell that the two were getting through to the blonde. Ashton knew that Calum was most likely going to use her for one thing and he didn't want to see someone as kindhearted as Bryana go through the heartbreak that would come along with it. In short, Calum only saw big boobs when he looked at Bry. He didn't see her kind soul and personality that go along with it. 

"Is he really that bad of a person? Like, would he be that way to anyone else or is it just because you're his roommate and you're friends with Ash?" Bryana quizzed.

"Those are his true colors, I'm afraid. Anya and I didn't know each other before I arrived, so there was no way that he could've known that we would become friends or anything to that sort," Ashton explained to her. "I know that you're trying to find the good in him, but I don't believe that there is any."

In the short few hours that Ashton had known Bryana, he already knew a lot about her. She was an optimistic person, which was a tremendous thing, especially with her having to live all the way in southern Australia and her family was back home in California. Being she was an optimist, she would always try to find the good in people. Ashton had quickly learned that when Anya was speaking about a professor that she hadn't cared for and Bryana was trying to find all of the good things about the man to try and make Anya less bitter towards the character. Ashton appreciated the girl's good heart, but he knew that she was going to get hurt by it one day and he wanted to prevent that from happening if he had the power. For example, the situation that she was in with Calum. He doesn't want a toxic person such as his roommate contaminating Bryana. It wasn't fair to her. 

"I suppose that you're right. It can't hurt to go out with him once, can it?" Bryana suggested, earning an eyebrow raise from both Anya and Ashton. "Don't look at me like that! The only reason I would is to get the free meal! I love food and I will  _not_ pass up the opportunity to get some free."

Ashton couldn't help but laugh at the girl's comment. "That's a very valid point you've made. So, in that case, go for it, but I know for a sure fact that you won't do it again."

"You're probably right," Bryana laughed. 

The three friends continued to eat their pizza, trying to indulge in peace but couldn't hear themselves think over how loud the footie team was getting. Ashton couldn't wait to get out of Calum's presence (or vice versa). He went out with his two friends in order to get a break from his annoying and terrible roommate, yet here he was sitting ten feet away in the same restaurant. Not only that, but his new friend was now contemplating going on a date with the douche bag. There was never a time that Ashton wished that he had the power to alter someone's thinking until that very moment. 

"What do you say we get out of here and go get some frozen yogurt at this new place down the street?" Bryana suggested. 

"That would be perfectly fine with me. The less time I have to spend in the same room as Calum, the better life will be," Ashton told Anya and Bry. 

"I'm down for it," Anya said. 

"Perfect! Let's pay and then we'll get going. Hopefully your  _lovely_ roomie and his new posse don't like fro-yo," Bryana laughed.

The three got up from the table and made their way over to the bar to pay for their pizza. As they walked up there, Ashton felt two holes being burned into his back. He turned his head slightly and caught the hard and stone cold glare from Calum at the soccer table. Ashton was tempted to give him a rude gesture, but figured that he was classier than that. He was all around classier than Calum when it came to their many arguments and he didn't want to break the streak. It was always a plus for Ashton when Calum was constantly the assumed villain in the situation.

"Ready to go, Ash?" Bryana asked with much pep in her voice.

"As long as both of you are," Ashton smiled. 

As they walked out, Calum gave Bryana a flirtatious smirk in which she returned with a sassy wave. Ashton was tempted to do the same thing just to ruffle his feathers, but figured that it wasn't worth it. He was hoping that after he went out with Bryana, she wouldn't let him down easy. He didn't deserve it to be painless. Ashton was sincerely hoping that he would become so whipped with Bryana and she would kick him to the curb. Though at the same time, he didn't want to be the recipient of Calum's dramatic tears.

The three walked down the street in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence or anything - a peaceful one. He looked at his two new friends, thinking about his gratitude towards the two. It was the first time that he had had more than one friend - especially female. Girls at his high school never liked Ashton because they thought he was weird and went out of their way to avoid him. It didn't really bother him because he would've rather have been alone instead of accompanying those specific girls that were too obsessed with themselves to actually care about anyone else. That's what ruined Ashton's perception of girls. He began to think that they were all backstabbers or conceited. Except now that he was friends with Bryana and Anya, he realized that not all of them are as terrible as the girls he used to know. It seemed that these two actually cared and weren't arrogant. They actually showed Ashton some type of compassion and he was so grateful for that.

"Earth to Ash."

Ashton snapped himself out of the sappy thoughts. He looked at his blonde friend standing before him, looking at him as if she was waiting for him to answer something that she had said. 

"What?" Ashton wondered, his cheeks instantly tinting out of slight embarrassment. 

"We're here. Do you know what you're going to get?" Bryana asked him with an amused smile on her face. 

Ashton looked up and sure enough, they were standing in the line at a frozen yogurt bar. He had never personally had frozen yogurt before, so he was completely clueless as to know what to order, let alone what he liked. His gaze floated back to Bryana. "Go first. I'm not sure what I like yet."

"Have you ever had fro-yo, Ash?" Anya wondered. Ashton just responded with a shake of his head. "I'll help you. Bry, go ahead and order. I'll help Ashton."

Bryana nodded and went ahead to order her dessert. Anya began explaining to him what to get. He ended up going with vanilla with Oreo pieces on top. It looked amazing when the clerk handed it over the counter, but Ashton couldn't help but have a small bit of doubt in the back of his mind. He learned that looks could be deceiving when it came to food. He had many stories when something good turned out to be something that tasted so foul. 

The three friends sat down at one of the tables in the middle of the mostly empty restaurant and the two girls looked at Ashton intently. Ashton looked between the two, confused. "What are you looking at me like that for?" 

"We want to know if you like it!" Bryana exclaimed. "We're experiencing your first time with you and we want to know if it turned out."

"Interesting word choice," Ashton chuckled. 

"What can I say? I like to put a play on words," Bryana giggled with a wink, but then got back to being serious. "Now quit stalling and try it before we die of old age!" 

\----

It was almost eleven-thirty by the time Ashton got back to his dorm room. He was hoping that Calum was still out with the team. When he opened the door, the room was dark. Without thinking, Ashton flipped the light switch, causing his side of the room to illuminate. By instinct, Ashton looked over to Calum's side and his hopes and dreams crashed to the floor. Calum was lying in his bed, his brown eyes fixated in a glare on Ashton. 

"Really, asshole? Don't you realize that people sleep at this hour of the day?" Calum spat groggily.

"Pardon me for coming home and not wanting to trip over your trash," Ashton shot back. "Why are you here anyway? I thought you would be out with your team."

"We don't party all the time," Calum spat. "Which is unfortunate for both of us."

"I'd have to agree," Ashton muttered, closing the door to their room before he went over to his small dresser to grab his pajamas.

"Can you hurry the fuck up? I have to wake up in the morning," Calum stated rudely.

"I've got news for you: I have to wake up as well. So, if you continue to complain to me, I'm going to take even longer," Ashton told him civilly.

"Fuck you, asshole," Calum groaned as he put a pillow over his head, as if he's in agonizing pain.

"I'd rather not."

\----


	6. Chapter 6

Ashton was alone in his room when he woke up the next morning, which he was slightly surprised at. He thought that Calum would be the type to sleep until the late afternoon hours because it was only 7:15 in the morning. Without a second thought, the boy got out of bed to get dressed for the day and go to the cafeteria to get his breakfast. It was his first day of classes and he was beyond excited to start. It may have been because he was just a huge fan of school and learning in general, but he also had an inkling that it was because it was going to be a different type of learning and it was going to be more in depth than high school.

Once Ashton made sure that everything he needed for the day was put perfectly in his backpack, he set it on the floor and cleaned up his side of the room so it was clean and fit his standards. He grabbed everything that he needed and headed out the door, being sure to lock it in case there were any curious ones wandering the halls.  He didn't care if they would take Calum's things, it was his own that he was concerned about.

As he got to the bottom floor of the dormitory, he spotted Bryana at the vending machine. Glancing down at his watch, he saw that he had enough time for a quick chat with her.  He quickly rushed over to the blonde just as she was turning to leave the vending machine. She went to open her granola bar when she noticed Ashton approaching her.

"Hey, Bry," Ashton greeted when he got close enough to the girl.

"Hey, Ashton!  What are you doing up so early?" she asked with her big award winning smile.

"I have class in about an hour," he told her. "I should be asking you the same. You look lovely for being having gotten up so early."

"Oh, thank you! It's a new dress actually! But I'm headed off to class too. I decided that I might as well make a good impression," she said, grabbing the hem of the dress in between her finger tips.

       

"What building are you going to?" Ashton wondered.

Bryana began digging around in her purse, pulling out a folded piece of paper. She looked down at it, reading carefully. "I'm in Donnelly Hall. What about you?"

"That's where I am headed towards as well! Would you like to accompany me on the way there?" Ashton asked, sticking out his arm for the blonde to link up with.

"I would love to!"

The two started off to Donnelly Hall, arms linked as they talked about meaningless things and walked with a purpose. The pair received weird looks - Ashton guessed that it was because they were wondering why someone such as himself was walking around with a girl like Bryana. He thought that it was downright rude that people were so judgmental based on looks. Just because Ashton wasn't the equivalent of an Abercrombie & Fitch model doesn't mean he couldn't associate with Bryana, a girl that could become a Victoria's Secret model at the drop of a hat.

They got to the building that they were supposed to be at and went to their separate rooms. Ashton suddenly felt the familiar lonely feeling he used to have in high school as he walked by himself into the classroom that was beginning to fill with students. Taking a quick glance around, he didn't see Anya around or thankfully Calum. It gave him a sense of deja vu as he realized that he was once again in a class alone. He hurried to the empty front row, taking a seat directly in the middle. The professor was at his computer, not paying any attention to the students that were filtering into the room.

Ashton looked him over, concluding the guy most likely came across as strict, but was actually a really nice person once one were to get to know him or get to be one of his reliable students. He looked away from the professor and lifted his backpack onto the desk, sliding out his laptop, notebook, and his selection of pens. He set them up in an orderly fashtion, his OCD tendencies causing him to make sure that everything was set perfectly. With a quick swipe on the laptop mouse, the computer turned on. Ashton quickly typed in his password and filled out the prompt it gave him in order to connect to the campus wifi. It didn't take him long to bring up a blank document for notes and also scroll through his artsy Tumblr, reblogging a few outstanding posts. He quickly closed out of the Google Chrome window as soon as the teacher made a loud slap on his podium.

"Welcome to modern philosophy. I am Dean Walsh. You can call me Dean, Walsh, Professor...but for the love of everything that is holy, do  _not_ call me Mr. Walsh. That's my father's name."

\----

Ashton rose up from the desk an hour later, putting his things back into his bag. As he shoved his laptop into the pocket, he heard his phone vibrating on the table. Once he finished zipping the bag, he clicked on the device to see that it was Anya asking him to lunch with her and Bryana. He quickly texted back a confirmation, figuring he might as well since he had about three hours until his next and final class of the day.

The walk to the central cluster of trees that he was meeting Bryana and Anya wasn't all that far from where Ashton was. He saw his friends standing by one of the trees, deep in conversation. He rushed over to them, excited that he would be around people that he knew instead of a room full of strangers that he didn't speak a word to.

"Hello, girls," he said as approached the two.

"Hi, Ashton," the two said in unison.

"How was class?" Bryana asked.

"Oh, it was wonderful. I can't wait until the next day I have it," Ashton gushed, trying not to let his inner nerd show, but it was just so difficult not to. "What about you?"

"It wasn't as grueling as I thought it would be," she giggled.

"Well, while you guys were off learning, I was working and I found out that Calum skipped his morning class today," Anya spilled, quirking her eyebrows up. "He's probably freaking out about your date."

Bryana rolled her eyes and chuckled. "As if. Speaking of, I need to find something to wear and was wondering if you both would be willing to help a girl out?"

"I am certainly not the person to ask to assist you," Ashton surrendered, putting his hands up.

"Oh, please! You probably have a very good eye for fashion," Anya pointed out.

"Seriously! After lunch, come back to our dorm room. If anything, you can just give the male perspective," Bryana bargained.

"Fine, fine. I gather that it would be alright. I don't have anything to do until my next class, so why not?" Ashton gave in. "But tell me: why are you stressing over what you are going to wear when you're refusing to go on another date with him?"

"Because I want to make him want what he can't have," Bryana said with a devilish smile as she brought her pointer finger to Ashton's chin. "That's the one pro of being considered a Playboy bunny lookalike."

"Alright, now that Bry has gone ahead and made it awkward, where are we going for lunch?" Anya asked after a few moments of awkward tension.

"There's that cute little cafe towards the entrance of campus that looks delicious. I heard from a few other girls that the sandwiches are just amazing there," Bryana suggested.

\----

"What do you think about this one? Is it too glitzy for a casual date? I doubt the kid can afford to go anywhere fancier than the pizza joint from last night," Bryana asked, walking around the room in a tight fitting pink sequined dress. "Ash, what's your opinion?"

Ashton gave his friend a once over. "It looks stunning on you, but I think that it is a tad too much for the type of date that you will be going on, especially if it's with Calum. I would aim for something that has minimum sparkle if your wanting something sequined. Personally, I would go for a navy blue color. It would certainly make you look like you just came from the beach."

Bryana looked at him in shock, as if she didn't expect that out of him. "Wow, um, okay. Let me see what I have."

The blonde disappeared back into the small closet and Ashton went back to reading his book. As much as he tried to focus on the words in the book, his mind kept getting distracted. He couldn't help but wonder why Bryana was stressing herself over this date so much. It wasn't like she even liked Calum because she had even said it. He knew that she was just going to get the free food, but he still didn't want her going out with him. He didn't think that Calum should go out with anyone because he was such a heartless bastard and knew that he would try to get into his date's pants. That was something that Ashton certainly did not want to be present for nor did he believe that Calum was worthy of any type of of antic intimacy. The only intimacy that boy deserved was his head and a 2x4.

"How is this?" Bryana asked as she paraded around the dorm room.

Ashton tore his attention away from his book and looked up at his friend. Her blonde curls bounced as she pretended that she was on a catwalk. He mentally congratulated himself for being right about how navy blue would make her look fabulous. She looked so radiant, any guy would be drooling at the sight of her. That's when Ashton's small smile fell from his face. He was a guy that was attracted to beautiful women, so why wasn't  _drooling_?

\----

"When are you going on that date with that hot blonde?" Luke asked Calum as they walked out to the field.

"After practice," Calum told him, still proud of himself for scoring the hot blonde and proving Luke wrong.

"Please tell me that you're going to shower first," Luke chuckled.

"Oh definitely. A dime like her deserves the best looking me that I can come up with," the Kiwi told his friend. "Not only that, but I want her to consider a second date or maybe even a little bed action."

"At least you're taking her to dinner first," the blonde captain chuckled.

"I'm classy like that," Calum said with a cocky edge to his voice.

Coach Reeves called the team together to give them details of the day's practice plan. Luke had already told him that the first practice was always just shooting and dribbling drills along with a few team building activities so the team could begin to meld together. Drills and team building were Calum's favorite types of practice. He loved running plays and other types of practice, but he always found some type of comforting feeling when it came to seeing everyone practicing their skills. He used it as an observation day as well so he could become familiar of how his teammates operated individually as well as a team.

"Alright, so I'm going to break you up into three groups, each group going with each captain," the coach told them.

Calum listened as he listed off each group and let out a sigh of relief when he got on Luke's team. He knew that he had to get cozy with the other two captains, but he would rather do that in a casual setting. He was already pretty comfortable with Luke, so the it took a bit of a load off his shoulders knowing that he didn't have to impress as much as he would with a different captain. He was still going to show off to the others so they knew that they had a potential professional on their side, but it wasn't going to be like he was playing for the Brazil scout.

"Listen up, ladies. We're going to be working on shooting. So, if you can't shoot worth a shit, that damn well sucks because you're going to have to do it eventually. So, you might as well make an ass of yourself now," Luke announced to the seven boys in the group. "Cal, you seem to know what you're doing, so you're going to go first."

Calum gave a cocky smile as he walked towards the ball that was set in line with the goal. He got into his stance a few feet back from the ball. When he was ready after a few moments of readying himself, he ran to the ball and gave it a swift kick right into the center of the back of the net. Calum turned around, an arrogant and confident expression on his face.

"And that, ladies, is how you get it done," Luke told them.

\----

Calum put on his black dress coat and looked in the mirror again, fluffing his already puffy hair. He made sure that he looked as irresistible and sexy as he possible could for Bryana. The one thing that he was determined to do was try to score exactly what he had told Luke earlier in the day. Plus Luke had challenged him.

When he thought he was good enough, Calum grabbed his wallet, phone, and room key as he left the empty room. He was hoping that Ashton wasn't down in Bryana's room because he didn't need that nerd to ruin his mood. The asshole probably already told her all of these terrible lies about him. To be honest, he was shocked that she hadn't called to cancel. The girl seemed like she would be easily persuaded.

Once he got to his date's room, he listened to hear if there was talking on the other side of the door, but only heard the faint sound of a new Justin Bieber song. Taking a deep breath, Calum lifted his hand and knocked on the door. It didn't take long before the door swung open and he was greeted with the beautiful Bryana Holly.

"Hello, Calum," Bryana greeted with a welcoming smile.

Calum couldn't take his eyes off of the girl. "H-Hi, Bryana. You look absolutely hot."

"Thanks," Bryana giggled. "You don't look too bad yourself. We somewhat match. Are you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are," he smiled.

She grabbed a white hat and her purse before shutting off the lights and making her way out of the room. "Let's go."

Calum walked with her down to the ground floor, hoping that where he chose for the date to be was going to be up to Bryana's standards. He was also of the hoping that the girl would be willing to accompany him to a party at one of the captain's later on so he could show off his potential girlfriend.

When the couple was outside, the blonde girl turned around to face Calum. "So, where are we headed?"

\----


	7. Chapter 7

Calum walked into the dorm room, completely unsatisfied with how his date went. He thought that he would have had fun at least, but he didn't. At first, he thought Bryana was just shy and didn't know what to say, even though she didn't really strike Calum as that type, which it turned out she wasn't. They barely talked throughout the entire dinner and when they did, she was completely bitchy towards him. He didn't understand why she had been so flirty when he picked her up and then turned into something ugly.

"Your friend is a bitch. Now I understand why you're friends," Calum scoffed to his roommate.

Ashton looked up, taking his earbud out of his ear. "Neither of us are naturally a bitch. You are rejecting the idea that we simply don't like you."

"Oh, really, Irwin? You were there. You saw how she flirted with me when I asked her out. Don't give me that shit that she didn't like me at all," Calum spat at him, stripping off his shirt. That's when he looked at Ashton with the meanest glare anyone ever dared to give. "No, it's  _your_ fault. You told her all of this shit about me so she wouldn't end up liking me at all. What the fuck did you say to her? What lies did you spread about me?"

Ashton's face remained expressionless, which started to irk Calum. It wasn't that he was looking for a rise out of the asshole. He wanted the kid to stop being so proud of being an asshole. That's what really pissed Calum off.

"I didn't tell her anything but the truth, Calum. I do not tell lies, especially about something as petty as that. It was only a matter of time until she figured out that you were an arrogant lowlife that was only looking to get in her pants," Ashton told him, keeping a straight face the entire time he explained it.

"Just because I'm popular, hot, and have more of a chance than your faggot ass does with a girl like Bryana makes me arrogant? And that gives you the right to talk shit about me? I'll have you know, ass wipe, I didn't ask her out just to get her in bed. You think you know all this shit about me and you fucking don't. I'm not some fuck boy that goes around and fucks every girl I think is hot as fuck. So, before you judge me and tell these fucking lies, think twice. You're lucky I don't fucking strangle your gay ass," Calum spewed, pissed as all hell that Ashton was the one who jeopardized his potential relationship with Bryana. 

"I have dealt with people so similar to you that do just that when it comes to women. You objectify women and screw them because you think you're all that and then some. It's wrong. No, I don't know you, but I have heard enough and seen enough of you to know that you do treat women like they're a sex object. I saw the way that you looked at her; you looked at Bry like she was a piece of meat. She is certainly more than a toy. She's a beautiful, open-minded, smart woman that deserves someone better than you. Someone that treats her with the respect that she deserves," Ashton argued. "I know why she doesn't like you and it didn't involve me having to say anything. She doesn't like how you treat others, especially her friends. If you want proof of that, why don't you go and ask her yourself?"

Calum felt like that cartoon character with smoke blowing out of his ears. He wasn't going to stand for some weak nerd telling him what he was like when the douche didn't know anything about him. Before he could blow up at him, Calum stormed out of the dorm room, not caring that he was walking around without a shirt. He was going to find Bryana and he was going to find out why she treated him so rudely. If anything, him being shirtless would make her putty in his hands and maybe it would turn into some angry sex. 

He knocked roughly on the door, not giving a shit whether or not she and the fat ass were sleeping. He wanted answers and he wanted them at that precise moment. It didn't take long before Bryana yanked open the door, clad in a white nightie and slightly mused hair. The sight almost made Calum forget why he was pissed off. 

"What the hell are you doing here?!" the blonde asked, her voice not any louder than a loud whisper. "Do you know what time it is? If you're here for sex, I'm not interested, you pervert!" 

"What the hell did Ashton tell you? Is that why you treated me like complete shit? Because of that faggot?" Calum drilled, his voice rising. 

Bryana got a defensive look on her face. Any chances of him ending up with her were completely diminished. "Excuse me? Ashton told me the truth about you. He told me that you were an asshole and treated him like shit because he wasn't like you. But you know what? I was trying to find the good in you when he was telling me this, but now you've gone and proved yourself. You are an asshole. Nobody, and I mean,  _nobody_ insults my friends and gets away with it. Especially to my face."

"Why the fuck am I insulting him? I'm pointing out a fact! He's gay as fuck! He likes to suck fucking dick! For God's sake, if you can't see that, you're fucking blind! You're blonde is showing, sweetheart!" Calum argued. 

Bryana's mouth dropped and she slapped Calum across the face. "Fuck you.  _Fuck you._ I hope you rot in fucking Hell, you prick! I knew that I didn't like you."

"Bitch, please. You wouldn't have agreed to go out with me if you didn't like me," Calum scoffed. 

"Bitch? If you call me a bitch or insult any of my friends one more time, I will not hesitate to shove one of my heels so far up your ass, you'll feel it poking the back of your eye sockets," Bryana spat. She went to close the door, but Calum's foot blocked it. "And I only went out with you because it was free food. You had as much of a chance with me as you do with Selena Gomez;  _none._ "

Calum moved his foot, his mouth hanging open and Bryana slammed the door in his face. He couldn't believe that the one girl that was mouthwatering had just tried to threaten him and had used him. He knew that it would be a mistake getting involved with her since she was Ashton's friends. There was just no doubt in Calum's mind that Ashton had done something to influence the date and how Bryana felt about him. It pissed Calum off. He wanted to kill the little bastard in that very moment and he was going to figure out a way to drag him down. 

\----

"You've got to figure out a way to show that little cunt who the boss is," Luke told him as they went for their warm up run. "You should really move into the frat house. Who cares what the RA says? Just tell him that you have an abusive roommate. I could help give you a few bruises."

"Yeah, even if it were true, he wouldn't believe me," Calum grumbled, thinking back to his first meeting. "Plus, if I just up and moved like that, it would be letting him win. I want to make him suffer."

"Yeah? We could do one of the old hazing rituals on him. They're pretty ruthless," the blonde suggested. 

Calum looked over at him. "They still have those? I thought every university banned them."

"An old journal with all of them gets passed down from the senior captains every year. We don't use them anymore, but it's just tradition for us to have it," Luke explained. "We could try one of the anal ones. He might enjoy that too much though."

"Considering the fines we can get with that shit when we get caught, I'd rather not. I'm not going to be down for killing a guy," Calum pointed out, denying the suggestion even though it was a good idea. "No, I want to embarrass him. I want to make him realize that he messed with the wrong guy." 

The two were quiet for a minute before Luke spoke up. "I got a plan. It's fool proof and I think you'll be game for it. It doesn't involve killing him or getting kicked off the team at all."

Calum's ears perked up at that. "Oh, really? Let's hear this."

\----

Ashton walked down into the library, figuring that he needed a change of scenery in order to write his first paper. Most of the tables were full from other students that didn't look at all ready to give them up. He searched around the quiet room, beelining to the first open spot he saw at the opposite side of the library. There was only one other person there that seemed to be so absorbed in what looked to be a video game. Deciding that he wanted to be polite, Ashton tapped on the red haired boy's shoulder lightly, causing him to pause his game and remove a headphone, looking up at Ashton.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I sit here? It appears that there isn't any other spots open and I wanted to be polite and ask before I just sat," Ashton asked.

The red haired boy stretched, putting his hands behind his head with his eyes locked on his computer screen. "I suppose it wouldn't matter if you did. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable."

Ashton smiled and thanked the boy as he sat down across from him. He got out his correct books and laptop, setting it up on the table. As he opened the computer, he accidentally moved the redhead's screen, causing the boy's green eyes to glance over at him. 

"I apologize, erm..." Ashton trailed off with an embarrassed smile.

"The name's Michael," Michael introduced himself, reaching his hand over the two laptops. "And don't worry about it."

"My name's Ashton," he smiled back at Michael. "Are you going into something with video games?"

"Yeah, I want to be a video game designer or something to do in that industry," Michael told him. "It's my favorite past time, so I figured that I might as well get paid for doing something that I love. What about you, Ashton?"

"I want to major in either English or art history. I am leaning towards the English side of things," Ashton told him. 

"Sounds interesting," Michael commented. 

"You are the first person to actually say that to me," Ashton chuckled.

Michael raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, other than my other two friends, my roommate just made fun of me for what I like. He tends to call me a lot of derogatory things because of it as well," Ashton explained to him. 

"Really? That's not cool. I'm guessing that he's one of the footie players? They all tend to be assholes," Michael wondered.

"Unfortunately, he is."

"Well, I'll tell you this: I'm not into English or literature, but I think that it's pretty cool that you are. Just know that it's not up to him to tell you what's cool and what isn't. He doesn't know what the hell is cool. I'm actually surprised if he can even write his name," Michael said, causing Ashton to chuckle.

"You are so quick to judge and you don't even know him," Ashton said, an amused smile on his face. 

"I don't have to. I know enough about the footie players to know that they're pretty much one in the same. Have you met Luke Hemmings or any of the other captains? They're some of the most terrible people that I've ever come across," Michael explained to him.

"I've actually made it a priority to avoid as many jocks as I can. I had enough of them in my high school years and now in my own room. I don't want to have to deal with anymore," Ashton told him. 

"I don't blame you and I feel bad for you. Have you talked to your RA?" he wondered.

"Well, he had actually reported me for discrimination when I hadn't done a thing wrong. It turned out that he was in the wrong, but I heard the options for moving rooms and paying so much extra money for a single room doesn't really sound too appealing," Ashton explained.

"What about a fraternity?" the redhead wondered.

"Oh, no. I'm not really social enough to live in one of those. I would much rather live alone than with a house full of people that are certainly  _not_ into the same types of things as myself. It would just be asking to get bullied," Ashton shrugged. "It's no big deal. I can live with it until he's able to move out."

The two continued chatting, neither of them doing anymore on their computers. It wasn't like Ashton to not get a paper done within an hour, but he enjoyed the fact that he was making a new friend. He was in need of more than just Anya and Bryana, even if they were very good friends to him. It wasn't that he needed a change of scenery from them, but it was more of the fact that he wanted to make his years at university different than they were in high school. He wanted to have a tight knit circle of friends instead of just having one. As much as Ashton didn't like talking to people, he felt kind of cool having a few people that he could hangout with every once in awhile. 

"Hey, if you ever want to hang out and get away from your loving roommate, here's my room number and cell," Michael told him, sliding over a torn off piece of notebook paper.

"Thanks, Michael. It was lovely meeting you," Ashton said with a smile. 

Michael shut his laptop and left Ashton alone at the table. He was happy that he had yet another friend. He was excited to tell and introduce him to Bryana and Anya. Hell, he would be excited to introduce him to Calum if he wasn't such an asshole. But, unlike everyone else with their roommates, Ashton was living with a mortal enemy. 

He just wished that they could get along sooner or later. It would make both of their lives so much easier.

\----


	8. Chapter 8

Ashton walked back into his room, looking forward to just collapsing on his bed and going to sleep. He was hoping that Calum would be gone or would be asleep already, but seeing that it was only eight o'clock, the chances of both were slim to none. He opened the door, preparing himself for the brunt of Calum's "jolly" greeting.

"Oh, hey, Ashton. I was wondering when you'd get back," Calum said, looking over at him from behind his phone.

Ashton nearly choked on his saliva. Calum was being nice to him. "I was just down at the library, writing my paper. I didn't know you were looking for me?"

"Nah, I wasn't looking. I just wondered where you would be at such a late hour," Calum confirmed.

Ashton continued to walk into the dorm room, setting his bag down on his storage trunk. He grabbed his pajamas out from under his pillow, getting ready to go into the bathroom to change. He was surprised that Calum hadn't made any snide remarks since he had walked into the room. It was something that had never happened before. Almost a big enough event to put in the history books.

He fished out his pajamas and got ready to go change in the bathroom down the hall. He was slightly weirded out by the change in Calum. Calum had never been nice to him before, but Ashton wasn't going to complain. It was something that he had dreamed about since the day that he had met Calum, so he wasn't going to complain and lose something that he had been fantasizing about.

He turned to leave the room when Calum spoke up and stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"I was going to go change into my pajamas," Ashton told him, trying to have a nonchalant tone, but wasn't succeeding at it.

"You can change in here. I won't look," Calum told him.

Ashton looked at him, wondering what to say. He wasn't going to change in front of Calum. That would be giving him a whole new level to harass him on. He wasn't going to hand over the bullying tools just like that. He would have to be some type of stupid to do that.

"Thank you, but no thanks. You haven't been very kind towards me or anything of mine, so I'd rather not give you something more to harass me for," Ashton said, hoping that didn't wake the beast that he knew was inside of Calum.

"Here, I'll turn around if that makes you feel better. And I won't harass you," Calum said, turning himself over so his back was facing Ashton.

Hesitantly, Ashton stripped down, putting on his pajamas. He felt a little weird changing with someone else in the room - specifically one that hated him and would do anything to put him down. When he was comfortably in his clothes, he put his dirty laundry into his pop-up hamper.

"O-okay," Ashton stammered. He climbed onto his bed and popped out his contacts, grabbing his black rimmed glasses and pushed them onto his face. Once he got comfortable, he grabbed his book - the first in the Game of Thrones series - and figured that he might as well do a little reading before he fell asleep.

"So, how was the library?" Calum asked as soon as Ashton looked down at the page where he had left off.

Ashton brought his eyes up to see Calum looking at him, noticing how the boy actually looked like he actually cared about how Ashton's day went. "It was fine. I met a new friend if that's what you were wondering."

"Oh, really? Who?" Calum asked.

"Um, his name is Michael. He was planning on majoring in something to do with video games," Ashton told him.

"Sounds like my kinda guy," Calum chuckled. "You should bring him up here sometime. I'd like to meet him."

Ashton smiled awkwardly, remembering all of the things that he had told Michael about Calum. It would be a little weird to bring Michael up there with Calum having this new kind attitude instead of his normal douche bag one. He was utterly bamboozled by the entire situation. He might as well try to figure out the sudden change in him so he could understand it better. "I thought you were angry with me because of what had happened with Bryana."

"No, I'm not. What's in the past should stay there. It wouldn't have worked out anyway and if it would've, it wouldn't have lasted very long," Calum explained. "I didn't know that you wore glasses."

It took Ashton a minute to switch subjects as fast as Calum did. He smiled awkwardly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Oh, thank you. I've had them since I was twelve. I've always felt that I looked nerdy in them."

As soon as the words left Ashton's mouth, he regretted them. He expected a rude remark to exit his roommate's mouth. He walked right into the harassment. Ashton hated feeling as vulnerable as he did. He felt that way all through high school and vowed that he would never feel that way in university or ever again, but there he was, barely into college and he was feeling vulnerable again.

"Nah, you don't look nerdy. They're actually kind of cute on you," Calum told him.

Ashton looked at him, his mouth dropping open just a little. "What?"

"Your glasses don't make you look nerdy. They're cute on you," Calum repeated, a small chuckle at the end of his sentence.

"Oh, thank you," Ashton said awkwardly. It sounded like he didn't appreciate the compliment, but that was only because he know how genuine it actually was.

"What are you reading?" Calum wondered.

"A Storm of Swords. It's the third book in the Game of Thrones series. My mum got me hooked on it," Ashton told him, tipping the book so he could see the cover.

"Huh. I don't really read much," Calum said. If it would've been a snarky remark, Ashton would've responded something rude. He still thought it, but being that Calum was being civil to him, he wasn't going to say anything. "You cool if I go to bed? I'm kind of tired."

"Certainly. I was actually thinking of it myself. Been quite a long and interesting day," Ashton said, closing his book.

"You don't have to quit reading because of me. I won't be bothered by your light being on," Calum told him.

"No, really, it's fine. I need the sleep more than I need to read," Ashton told him with a tired smile.

With that, both lights went off and the room went quiet. Instead of closing his eyes and falling asleep, Ashton laid there, staring at the blank ceiling. He was so confused as to how Calum was acting and what had changed within the past twenty-four hours.

\----

Ashton and Michael walked towards the pizza place where Ashton was going to introduce Michael to Anya and Bryana at lunch. The two girls were so excited that Ashton had made a new friend and wanted to meet him. They also thought that it would be cool to add another person into their little group. Michael was also looking forward to meeting Bryana and Anya. He had admitted that he didn't have many friends in general, so he was open to making some.

He hadn't yet told any of the three about Calum's strange behavior. For one, he didn't want to come off as a gossip artist when he really wasn't. There was also the fact that he wanted to get his friends comfortable together before he brought up anything. Being that Bryana and Ashton hadn't really conversed since the drama that had happened, Bry would most likely bring him up. That would be easier for Ashton to say something.

"So, are your friends here already or are we meeting them?" Michael asked as they entered the pizza place.

"From what Anya had texted me, they are both here already," Ashton told him with a smile.

Before Michael could say anything, the waitress stepped forward. "Hello, welcome. How many?"

"We are actually meeting two young ladies here," Ashton told her. "May we look around the restaurant to see where they're sitting?"

The waitress nodded and the two boys entered the restaurant with the waitress in tow. It didn't take long until Ashton spotted Bryana and Anya sitting close to the window. Ashton told the girl that was the table they were sitting at. The girl handed Michael and Ashton two menus with a smile, leaving them to go to the table.

"Hello. I apologize that we're late," Ashton said, taking a seat next to Anya.

"Don't worry about it," Anya brushed off. "Who's this?"

Ashton turned towards Michael, who took the sit next to him and Bryana. "Anya, this is Michael; Michael, this is Anya."

"Nice to meet you," Michael smiled, reaching across the table and shook Anya's hand.

"You as well," Anya responded.

"Bryana, this is Michael; Michael, this is Anya's roommate, Bryana," Ashton introduced.

The two shook hands and smiled, an awkward silence following. Ashton looked over the menu, pretending like he wanted something different. Instead of one of the girls saying something to break the awkward ice, Michael spoke up.

"Ashton didn't mention that you were both so beautiful," Michael said with a cheeky smile as he looked between Anya and Bryana. "You have to let me in on these things. I would've wore my special occasion socks."

They all cracked up at that comment, which led to more chatter among them. Ashton enjoyed watching how well all of them got along with each other. He expected they would, but confirming his thoughts made it all the more meaningful to him. He was glad that the three of them were able to have open minds when they met each other. It further proved that university was nothing like high school, where everyone's minds were closed off to making any friends. It brought a comforting joy to Ashton's heart.

"So, Ash, has Calum said anything about what happened? I can't imagine that he wasn't an ass to you," Bryana asked, pulling Ashton from his thoughts.

"Well, after I went back from the library, he was acting really strange," Ashton announced.

"What do you mean?" Anya wondered.

"Did he actually treat you like a human being?" Michael asked after he swallowed his bite of pizza.

"Yes, actually. He was overly nice to me. He acted as if he never harassed or hated me. In fact, when he noticed that I had glasses, he didn't tease me about them. He thought they looked cute," Ashton explained. His three friends gave him odd looks.

"He suddenly is acting like you two are friends?" Bryana wondered.

"Yes! He acted as though he was genuinely concerned about what I was doing, how my day went...he had even asked if I would bring Michael up sometime," Ashton continued.

"You told him about me?" Michael asked. "Why would he want to meet me? I mean, I didn't really tell you anything interesting about me."

"He liked that you were into video games. I don't know what got into him, but he's just acting like he really cares," Ashton told them. "It's awkward, to say the least."

"Just...be careful, Ashton. There's something sketchy about it," Bryana warned.

"We don't want you to get hurt. Beware about opening yourself up to him. If he ends up playing you and you've told him personal things, he's going to have that much more to use against you," Anya also warned.

"I wouldn't trust him. He goes from treating you like shit to suddenly being nice to you? There's something fucked up going on. If I hated someone as much as that, I certainly wouldn't be nice to them in an instant. Not without having some type of plot or if I needed something that they could give me," Michael told him.

Ashton didn't know what to think. He knew that his friends were right, but he didn't want to not give Calum a chance. Maybe the kid realized that he needed to change his act so they wouldn't have to be miserable for the remainder of the year. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if what Michael mentioned about him having a plot or him needing something from Ashton was true. What if Calum was just taking advantage of him?

\----


	9. Chapter 9

"Look who finally decided to show up," Luke smirked as Calum walked onto the practice field after being ten minutes late. "What took you so long? Were you making out with your roomie?"

"Disgusting. I wouldn't be caught dead doing that," Calum responded with a cringe. "I was eating."

"Eating what, his ass?" one of the other players chimed in.

"Again - disgusting," Calum repeated, cringing even more so than he had originally. 

The other players around him and Luke ran off to continue their practice. Luke passed Calum the ball, insinuating a passing exercise. The two didn't say much, which was a bit odd considering the two usually never shut up when they were together, especially during practice. 

"So, how did it go with Ashton?" Luke finally said.

"Fine, I guess," Calum shrugged, passing the ball smoothly across.

"Was he open to you being all nice and shit or did he completely go all bitch on you?" Luke smirked.

"He was a little confused at first, but he's opening up to it," Calum told him. "Do you know how difficult it is being nice to him when I can't stand him? Tell me why I'm doing this again. I need a reminder what benefit anyone is getting from it."

"Because you're going to show him who he's messing with. Plus, he might put in a good word for you to move into the frat house with us," Luke reminded. 

"Ugh, I guess that's a big enough reward. Maybe he'll change Bryana's mind. She may have been a bitch, but she's hot as fuck," Calum continued. 

"I have to agree with you there. If she doesn't want you, maybe Ashton will put a good word in for me," Luke chuckled. 

A normal person would have felt guilty for playing Ashton like that, but Calum and Luke certainly did not. They wanted to corrupt him into believing that Calum had actually changed and that he was actually reaching out to try and become friends, but only until he would prove to the nerd and his fat ass friend that he was good enough to move out of the dorms and into the frat house. But after Calum would get what he wanted, his and Luke's plan was to embarrass Ashton and show him who had control of him the entire time. It was really an evil thing to do, but if it meant that Calum could get what he had always dreamed of, then he would do whatever it would take. 

Calum knew that he would have to unfortunately be nice to Ashton's friends if he wanted to get anywhere. Thankfully, the guy didn't have many and Calum at least liked Bryana. He didn't know who the hell Ashton was talking about when he said that he met some dude at the library. Calum could only hope that he was normal and Cal would actually want to give the guy a chance. It was going to be hard to step down however many levels and associate with people that he had nothing in common with (other than the beautiful Bry). He had a reputation to uphold and he was slightly terrified that he was going to lose it. Then he remembered what the award was for nearly committing social suicide. 

"Damn, Calum. You're really good. I can see why Brazil wants you on their team," Luke complimented once they finished a few more drills. 

Calum couldn't help but give a proud smile. He almost forgot about Brazil. He was too busy plotting. "Thanks, bro. I'm hoping that they'll pick me up this year sometime so I don't have to go through another eon of schooling."

"That would definitely be a first for Melbourne U. To have a freshman player make it onto a professional team? That would be amazing. Dude, remember me when you make it big," Luke told him, still in awe about how talented Calum actually was at his favorite sport. 

"How could I forget my first friend on the team?" Calum said, knowing that he was being sappier than one of the romance novels that his mother and sister read, but that was technically the point.

"Aw, you're so cheesy. I love ya, bro," Luke said with a gratuitous smile and attacked Calum in a hug. 

"Only for you, Luke, only for you," Calum chuckled. "Now, could you let me the fuck down. And don't drop me because I could die from free falling."

"Rude," Luke said, setting Calum down. "I'm not that tall."

"You're as tall as a long neck dinosaur," Calum chuckled. "Don't sweat it. It comes in handy for head butts into the goal."

\----

Calum sauntered out of the locker room with Luke, talking about the game that was coming up. He nearly forgot about his annoying roommate, but was oh so pleasantly surprised when the blonde was waiting for him. His first instinct was to be rude, but he quickly remembered his and Luke's scheme and proceeded to be civil.

"Oh, hey, Ashton," Calum greeted, trying to make his greeting to sound genuine and not fake, but knew that it wasn't working. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Calum," Ashton answered nervously as he walked towards Calum and Luke. "I didn't mean to bother you, but I was just wondering if you would like to meet and join Michael and I on a shopping adventure at Melbourne Central. He was in need of some equipment for his computer and it would also be to hang out for a while. You don't have to if you don't want. Just thought that I would offer since you had wanted to meet him."

"Yeah, that would be fine. I wasn't going to do anything for the rest of the day anyways," Calum agreed, forcing a smile. He turned to Luke. "See you tomorrow, mate. Text me later."

"I definitely will," Luke laughed. Calum knew that he was going to make fun of him when he would next talk to him. 

Calum forced a smile and walked with Ashton, hoping that it would be a quick trip. He never really pinned Ashton as the type to stay in a mall or any type of store for very long, but he never pinned a male to be a fan of girl music either. He had hopes that this Michael person was going to someone cool. He already knew that the guy played video games, so that was a point towards him.

The walk to what he imagined was Michael's dorm was silent, like Calum had expected. He was completely fine with it because he didn't really want to have to make conversation. He didn't know what he would say. If it were his normal friends, he would strike up a conversation about sports. But with Ashton, he had no clue. He could try talking sports, but knew that he wouldn't get very far and didn't want to waste his breath that much. 

"He said that he would be meeting us in a bit. He had to untangle all of his cables," Ashton told him as soon as they walked into the basement of the dorm hall.

"That's fine," Calum answered. 

They sat there for a total of five minutes before a guy with red hair was walking towards them, a black laptop bag slung over his shoulder. Calum fought every urge to keep from quirking his eyebrow in judgment of the boy's hair bright hair color. He wouldn't have been caught dead with his hair anything but the natural black and maybe a splash of blonde highlights every now and again. 

"Hey, Ashton," Michael greeted. The fake redhead looked over at Calum, giving him a once over. "You must be Calum. I didn't know you were joining us on this trip."

The guy's smile was forced and Calum could see it. He knew that Ashton had obviously bitched about their living arrangement like he had with Bryana, so Michael was against him already. Not that he cared, but it was going to make it tougher to get what he wanted. 

"Yeah, I'm Calum. You must be the gamer that I've heard about," Calum smiled, sticking his hand out in a kind gesture.

"Yep. That's me," Michael said, pursing his lips tightly together, not taking Calum's extended hand. 

Acting like he was slightly offended, Calum slowly dropped his hand. Ashton hit Michael's arm lightly. "Michael, it doesn't cost anything to be nice."

Michael rolled his eyes and reached out towards Calum with his unoccupied hand. Calum grabbed it, giving it a firm shake like he did to his coaches. "Nice to finally meet you, Michael."

"Yeah. Same," Michael said. He turned to Ashton. "We need to get going before the rush hits."

It was clear that Michael didn't like Calum. It didn't bother him, but he knew that without Michael's approval, it was going to be tough to get Ashton's. But it was a challenge that he was ready to take on.

\----

_[From: **Michael** ]:_

_I'm telling you. he's not trying to be friends with you for his health. he's playing you._

Ashton set his phone on his night stand and went back to studying. Ever since they had gotten home from the shopping trip, Michael had taken the liberty of texting Ashton to tell him that Calum wasn't sincere with his friendship. Of course, Ashton kept it in the back of his mind that it might all be a ploy, but he couldn't see why the guy would do it. It wasn't like he would be gaining anything from it. If he didn't want anything to do with him, why else would he have jumped at the chance to meet Michael and hang out with them after his soccer practice? 

He knew that Michael wouldn't like him right away because Ashton had explained the bad side of Calum before he changed his ways, but he hadn't expected him to be as rude and closed off to him like he had been. That somewhat angered Ashton because he thought Michael was open to the idea of meeting and maybe getting to know the new side of Calum, but he was obviously wrong. All of his friends were against Calum, which made Ashton a bit sad, but he understood why. He wasn't exactly the nicest person to Anya whenever he saw her and Bryana had finally listened to their warnings when she went out to dinner with him. Despite all of that though, he wanted to show the three that Calum had actually changed and he wasn't that bad of a person now. 

After finishing his page, Ashton decided that he had done enough studying and review for the rest of the night. He closed his book and put his materials on his desk, planning to revisit them in the morning before he would go to class. He looked at his digital clock that was on his nightstand. It was almost ten-fifteen. Calum had been gone since eight with Luke and a few of the others from the team. Ashton knew that he was most likely drinking with them and having a jolly old time, but he couldn't help but wonder. In fact, he liked the new side to Calum and kind of missed him. Ashton wanted him to come home soon so they could discuss the days events or something. It was nice that he now had someone to talk to that was within the four walls.

He quickly changed into his pajamas, debating whether or not it was a good idea to wait up for Calum to get home, but knew that he had to get up early and didn't want to oversleep or be grumpy. Something in the back of his mind told him that Calum was perfectly fine and it wouldn't be worth losing sleep over because it was likely that he would be staying out a lot later than ten-thirty.

He shut the lights off, but went over to Calum's side of the room and flipped the small desk lamp on so the boy could at least see when he would walk in the room. He made sure that his outfit was laid out on his closet and then climbed into his own bed, cozying himself up underneath his warm comforter, his back to the rest of the room so he wouldn't be blinded when his roommate would come in. 

The social side of university was finally starting to come together. It brought a smile to Ashton's face knowing that he was finally getting along with his roommate. 

If only he knew that it was too good to be true.

\----


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you busy on Friday or do you have a date with the nerd again?" Luke asked, slamming his tray down in the spot across from Calum.

"What's it to you?" Calum responded.

"I was going to invite you to a frat party, but if you already have boring plans, I don't want to stop you," he chuckled.

"No, I don't have any. I'd be up to going, I guess," Calum shrugged. He never had been one to say no to a party.

"Great. It's at Zeta Alpha. They finally got off of probation and are going to throw one of the best parties they've ever had. Gives my frat house a break," the blonde explained.

Calum raised his eyebrow. "They just got off of probation? What were they on probation for?"

"They had this huge party, like, a year ago and they weren't allowed to have any type of social event unless it had to do with recruitment or it was approved by the dean. So, they got off it and now they're going to make up for the lost time," Luke explained to him. "They throw the best parties. I'd have to say that they throw better parties than my frat does and I don't normally compliment the competition."

"If they throw this big ass party, aren't they going to get put on probation again? The dean probably expects that to happen and she's just waiting for it to," Calum pointed out, not being able to find the logic in the situation. 

"It's not going to be at their house. It's going to be out of town. I think it's by one of their relative's houses," he continued. "You're hanging out with Ashton too much."

Calum quit chewing and quirked his eyebrow at Luke. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. You wouldn't normally question a party like that," Luke shrugged. "You're trying to find a reason for everything."

"Well, it's common sense not to have a huge party when you're under the Dean's magnifying glass," the Kiwi pointed out, somewhat offended that Luke tried to tell him that he was turning into Ashton. 

"Listen to you! You're spewing this bullshit about common sense and shit! It's weird, man. Maybe you should cut back your time with him or something," Luke told him.

Calum shot the guy a glare, even if he wasn't paying attention. What gave Luke the right to tell him how to live his life? To have the audacity to tell him that he was spending too much time with Ashton and was turning into him ticked Calum off. There wasn't necessarily anything bad about Ashton. He was just awkward as fuck, nerdy, and might be gay. Other than that, he was a nice guy.  

"Maybe I should cut back time with you because I don't want to be an asshole," Calum sneered as he got up from the table to go put away his dirty dishes.

He knew that telling off Luke wasn't the smartest thing to do, especially since Luke could help Calum become a household name as far as soccer goes, but he just didn't like how big of a jerk he was being. Granted, Calum wasn't an angel or anything, but he just wasn't in the mood to hear Luke downgrade another person - technically, anybody for that matter. 

Calum looked at his phone to get the time. He had an hour and half break between classes instead of just an hour since he had left lunch early. He figured that he might as well just go back to his dorm room until he had to go to class again. The only problem was that he didn't know what he would do. He didn't want to sit and go through social media for that long - it actually got sickening since everyone he followed posted the same type of things. As much as he loved sports, he got sick of it. 

He pressed the up button on the elevator panel when he got back to his building and patiently waited. For some reason, he felt like everyone was looking at him. He knew that that wasn't the case, but that was how he felt. The elevator doors opened and Anya was on the other side, looking at Calum with an defensive glint in her eyes. 

"Hey," Calum said with a small smile as she exited the elevator. 

The word made her stop and turn around slightly, looking at Calum with a confused expression. "Are you talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to?" he asked simply.

"Oh, well, hi, I guess," she said, quirking her eyebrow. 

Calum got onto the elevator, feeling slightly proud for treating her with some respect. It wasn't usual for him to treat someone nicely after he ripped them down like he had with Anya. Though he knew that he would have to treat her nicely and pretend to actually like her in order for his plan to work. He knew that getting Michael, Anya, and Bryana to actually approve of him as being Ashton's friend or even roommate was going to take a hell of a lot of work. 

When he got to his floor, he sauntered to his room, grabbing his key. Though, when he got there and tried to unlock the door, he realized that it was already unlocked. He opened it, seeing Ashton sitting at his desk with his headphones over his ears as he was bent over, most likely doing homework that was due in four weeks. 

Calum dropped his backpack by his bed and fell onto his bed, the springs squeaking from the impact. He looked at Ashton, chuckling to himself because the boy was so absorbed in whatever he was doing that he was oblivious to Calum even being in the room. Calum looked around him, trying to find something small to throw at Ashton to let him know that he was back for a little while. He found a gum wrapper by his backpack and picked it up, squishing it into a little ball. He launched it across the room, hitting the side of Ashton's head. Calum snickered as Ashton felt the area the wrapper had hit, as if it was still there.

The wavy haired boy continued doing his work and Calum laid on his bed and shook his head, finding it amusing that the kid was so into what he was doing that he didn't even feel the presence of someone in the room. He decided that he might as well have a little fun with it since there wasn't anything better to do. 

Getting out of bed, Calum tiptoed behind Ashton, a smirk on his face. At the right moment, Calum reached out and grabbed Ashton's sides, causing the boy to jump. Calum stumbled backwards, nearly falling over laughing at his reaction. 

"What the hell, Calum?!" Ashton asked, standing above the laughing Calum. "Why are you back?!"

"I...I was...I got done with lunch early," Calum said after he calmed his hysterics down. Once he was calmed down, he got back onto his bed, facing Ashton.

"Early? You usually spend time with some of your teammates, don't you?" Ashton asked.

"Yeah...I wasn't in the mood to deal with Luke today. He was acting like a douche bag and I couldn't handle him," Calum admitted.

Ashton slowly nodded, breaking his eye contact with Calum. It wasn't a secret that Ashton didn't like Luke. He didn't seem to like any of the athletes really anyway. Calum didn't blame Ashton though. Luke could be an asshole if he wanted to be and he was relentless when he was in douche bag mode. 

"I know what you're thinking: when isn't he? He's actually not that bad of a guy. At least, when he isn't in his douche mood," Calum told him. 

"As long as you get along with him," Ashton said with a tight smile. 

Calum remembered what Luke had said about cutting back time with Ashton. Just thinking about his words made Calum's blood boil. It made him do something that he never thought he would have and probably something that he shouldn't have even considered. 

"Do you want to go to a party on Friday night?"

\----

The looks that Ashton was receiving from Michael, Bryana, and Anya were not giving him a warm fuzzy. The weren't too pleased that Calum had invited Ashton to a frat party nor were they happy that he had agreed to go. Unlike his friends, Ashton was excited to go. He had never gotten invited to parties when he was in high school, so why shouldn't he be excited? The attitude that his friends were giving him were dulling down his mood and he didn't appreciate it at all.

"I don't understand why you want to put yourself in that kind of predicament. He couldn't stand you last week and now he's bringing you to a frat party as his best friend?" Anya pointed out.

"You do realize that this is a recipe for disaster, right?" Bryana chimed in.

Ashton rolled his eyes. "I know that you think he is just using me and is trying to make a fool of me, but since I live with him and have seen more of him than you have, I know that his intentions are not your expectations. I am going to the party because I have never been to one in all of my life. I know that Calum would not intentionally put me into a situation where I could be humiliated and it insults me that each of you think so low of him. He is my roommate and now my friend and I expect that you all treat him with the respect that he treats each of you with." 

The other three were quiet for a few minutes, not sure how to respond to Ashton's irritability. He had never been harsh towards them or put them in their place like he had and it caught all of them off guard. He wasn't used to having friends and he wasn't used to people trying to start internal conflict like they were. He understood why they didn't like Calum, but Ashton wanted them to at least treat him with some respect if they didn't give him a second chance. Calum could've been a jerk and ignored them, but he was trying to reconcile with them. 

"We just don't want to see you get hurt," Anya told him. "He hasn't done anything to prove to us that he doesn't mean trouble, so how are we supposed to know that you're going to be safe? How do we know that he isn't going to drug you and the rest of the team is going to do some hazing ritual?" 

"She's right, Ash. I haven't had any bad experiences with him, but from what you have told me and what Bry and Anya tell me, he doesn't score very highly in my book. I just don't see him as being a good friend to you. I don't want to see you get punked," Michael piped up. 

"I am not going to sit here and listen to you tell me how terrible you think he is! When you can treat him with the respect that he deserves, you know where to find me," Ashton snapped, standing up from the table as he walked away from what he thought were his three best friends.

He was hesitant about the party for the reasons that Anya had pointed out, but he could see that Calum was sincere and true about making sure that he wouldn't get drugged or anything and that helped get rid of any doubts that Ashton had had. He understood his friends' concerns, but the only thing that pissed Ashton off was the fact that they were being stubborn and weren't even open to giving Calum another chance or anything of the sort. 

With a huff, he went up the stairs to go back to his dorm room to finish the reading he had to do for his art history class. Calum was at his practice, so he didn't have to face him right away. That relieved him because he wanted to cool down a bit so he wouldn't snap at him unintentionally. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to tell him what happened because he didn't want to offend Calum. 

He didn't want to jeopardize finally being friends with Calum.

\----


	11. Chapter 11

Ashton looked in the full size mirror at himself, nodding at his appearance. It was Friday, which meant that it was the day of the party. While he was nervous, he was also excited. It was a new experience for him and he was looking forward to it. Calum had told him to get ready about twenty minutes prior and Ashton had told him to leave the room because he didn't want the boy to mock him for acting like a teenage girl about to go on her first date, despite the fact that it wasn't even close to a date.

Ashton decided on wearing his glasses, feeling like they tied together what he was wearing and it made him look like a cool nerd. Frankly, he was proud of the outfit and he knew that Calum would be too. At least, he hoped he would be anyway. 

With a quick nod, Ashton bounded over to the door, propping it open with their makeshift doorstop so Calum would know that it was okay to enter. Ashton sat down on his bed, grabbing his phone to text his mother and tell her that he was going to a party for the evening. Most people would consider slapping him for even thinking of telling her, but Ashton only did it for safety precautions. If things took a turn and he ended up getting murdered, his mother would know where to send the police. 

Calum walked in just as Ashton had sent the message. The boy was wearing a flannel over a white graphic t-shirt and black skinny jeans paired with black combat boots and a black beanie adorning his head to hide his messy hair. He gave Ashton a once over and scoffed.

"I thought you were getting ready," Calum snorted as he collapsed down onto his bed.

"I did! I am quite proud of my choice," Ashton said with a prideful smile. 

Calum raised his eyebrow. "Oh, my. No, you shouldn't be. You're just asking to be beaten to a bloody pulp if you wear that."

Ashton's smile faltered into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you need to look less nerd and try to actually look like you belong there," the beanie clad boy told him as he walked over to the small wardrobe. 

"What do you suggest then?" Ashton wondered, slumping.

"Lose the damn glasses for one. And let me do the outfit choosing," Calum commanded. Ashton wasn't going to protest. Calum had been to more of these things than he has, so he had to know what he was doing with himself.

Ashton took his place on his bed, sitting daintily as he waited for Calum to pick out a new outfit choice. He never knew that men spent that much time on getting ready for a party. He thought that was only what girls did. University has enlightened him quite a bit. 

"Here - put this on. Do you have contacts?" Calum wondered as he shoved clothes into Ashton's arms.

"Yes."

"Good. Put those in," he commanded. Ashton nodded in understanding. "Well, get moving, boi!"

Ashton quickly started stripping off his clothing and hurried to put his new option on. When he was done, he took off his glasses and put them back into their case while he found his contacts and poked them into his eyes. He straightened himself out and then cleared his throat so he could get Calum's approval. 

"You're missing something...here," Calum said, grabbing something from his closet. A grin slowly made its way onto Calum's face. "Much better. Go check it out."

Ashton went over to the body length mirror to look at his new look. He was pleasantly surprised. He would've never have thought to wear his clothes in that particular fashion, but he didn't hate it. If anything, he thought he looked like he was actually a cool person. Never had he felt that way before. 

"Try your headphones with it," Calum instructed. 

"You want me to put them on? Is that not considered rude?" Ashton asked, confused as to what he was plotting. 

"Put them on your neck."

Ashton did as told and then went back over to the mirror to look at his reflection. Ashton had envisioned himself as the cool guy only once or twice, but never thought that he could amount to it. But now he was looking at that cool guy that he had only visualized. He didn't think that it was possible for him to look like that and now he did. It made him uncomfortable but at the same time, he liked it. 

"So, what do you think?" Calum asked him finally.

"Strangely, I think I look rather dapper," Ashton admitted, not able to take his eyes off of himself. 

"Okay, now that you look all normal and cool, you have to stop talking like your a scholar or whatever the fuck they are," Calum chuckled.

"Well, excuse me for utilizing my grammar skills and not using these modern slang terms," Ashton answered with a smirk.

Calum quirked his eyebrow. "Well, why don't you try acting like the modern teenager and using slang - just for tonight, just a couple hours." 

Ashton rolled his eyes and agreed to it. It was going to be weird since he's always tried to talk more mature than his peers, but he knew that he had to do it in order to keep people from harassing him, especially the drunk ones. The last thing that he wanted to encounter were drunk douche bags. 

"Are you ready to go?" Calum smirked. 

Ashton hesitated, millions of what-ifs filing through his brain until he finally answered. "Yes. Readier than I'll ever be."

\----

Calum filtered through the shrouds of people to get him and Ashton a drink. They had been at the frat party for at least an hour and a half and it was going rather smoothly. The only drink that Ashton had consumed that entire night was a water because he was too scared to try a beer. Calum had never seen more of a pussy than him, but understood. The kid had never drank before and he had every right to be a little weary about alcohol, but Calum wasn't going to let the guy go through the night without actually experiencing a frat party. 

"Ayeeeeeeeee, Calum," Luke slurred, walking towards him, about to throw his arms around the guy, but Calum shrugged away. "What's wrong with you, Calpal?" 

"I don't want your drunk ass all over me," Calum sneered as he went over to the sink to fill a red Solo cup up with water. 

"Why so mad, Cally?" Luke continued. 

Calum ignored Luke as he added a shot of vodka to the water and then made his own drink. Luke was watching him in awe, as if he had never seen a drink being made by someone other than a bartender. 

"Who's the drink for? You gettin' laid tonight, Cal?!" Luke asked, ready to follow him back to where he told Ashton to stay. 

"None of your business," the Kiwi muttered. 

"It is too! It's my fuckin' house," Luke pressed. 

"I don't really care, Luke," he mumbled. 

"It's because you're fuckin' that nerd dude. I shoulda known that was gunna happen," Luke shouted for several people to hear. 

Calum turned around, glaring at Luke. He didn't know what he was doing until his fist was colliding with Luke's jaw. That's when a small crowd began to form around them. Calum could feel the smoke coming out of his ears. 

Luke felt his lip, looking at the small amount of blood on his finger with a small chuckle. "That's all? That was a gay man's hit. Fits you though."

That made Calum even angrier and he wanted to beat the living shit out of Luke. It was taking all the strength in him to hold back. "Gay? You think I am gay? I'm not the one checking everyone's fucking dick out in the locker rooms! Fucking bullshit. I am not gay and even if I fucking was, what the fuck would it matter?! You need to dislodge the stick from your ass and stop being such a fucking douche bag all the time, Luke. People might think differently of you then."

Luke set his drink down and began to slowly clap. "Congratulations, Cally. Bein' the fuckin' hero. Seem to be forgetting your little fuckin' plan about pretending to be that little faggot's best buddy. Or did it turn into butt buddy? Either way, you're bein' a fuckin' hypocrite and making an ass out of your damn self. Oh, and sorry for  blowin' your little secret. You probably would end up doin' it by the end of the night anyway if you know what I mean, fag."

Calum's rage was about to overflow, but he refrained, deciding it was the perfect time to walk away. He turned to go back to where Ashton was waiting, but he froze when he saw the wavy haired blonde looking at him with a heartbroken expression and pushed through the circle formed around the two boys. After a second, Calum shoved the two drinks in a bystander's hands and rushed in the direction of where he was running off to. 

Calum finally caught up to Ashton when they were outside of the house, mostly away from the majority of the party goers. 

"Ashton, stop," Calum called after him. 

Ashton stopped and spun around. "Why? Are you following after me because you're still trying to play along with your game? It's ruined now, Calum. You don't have to pretend any longer. I...just go back to your friends and let me go home."

Ashton turned away and stormed off down the driveway. Calum just stood there, not thinking that it was worth following after him.

\----


	12. Chapter 12

Calum felt like he was doing the walk of shame as he made his way back to his dorm building. It was nearly one in the morning by the time he was back on campus. He was so infuriated with the recent events that he had walked for over an hour to get back from the party. As he turned onto the sidewalk that led to the front doors, he wondered why he had even left the party because Ashton was more than likely going to be in the room and Calum was the last person that he wanted to see. 

During the his walk back, Calum had prepared what he was going to say in his mind, but now that he was back on campus, he realized that it wouldn't do any good to continue to lie to Ashton. It wouldn't be worth spewing more bullshit because Ashton simply wouldn't believe that bullshit. He walked into the building, the lobby deserted. In a way, he was happy that he didn't have to walk past anyone because he would feel like they were all thoroughly judging him, even if they weren't. 

The small make-do mini mart was still open, so Calum decided that he would get something to drink in order to water his parched tongue. He went straight back to the freezers, scanning over the assortment of bottled beverages when he looked over and saw Michael grabbing an energy drink. A nervous lump formed in Calum's throat, figuring that he already knew about the incident. Just as Calum went to sneak away without Michael noticing, the red haired boy noticed him. 

"You don't have to wait for me to pick something. I don't own the freezers," Michael scoffed. 

"Why are you here?" Calum asked.

Michael looked at Calum with a "duh" expression. "Because I'm thirsty?"

Calum stayed quiet and just grabbed something from the freezer in front of him, not bothering to see what it was. He went to the check out counter, hoping that the cashier would hurry so he didn't have to endure anymore awkward conversation with a guy that would hate him even more within the next twelve hours. 

The trip back to his room was the longest. He sauntered up the stairs instead of taking the elevator or running up them. Hopefully by the time Calum would get in the room, Ashton would be sound asleep. It had been over an hour anyways. Calum put his hand on the doorknob for about five minutes before he actually went into the room. It wasn't that he was scared; he wasn't one for facing confrontation. If anything, he tried to avoid it after an encounter. It didn't make sense to a lot of people considering that Calum was an active asshole, but that was just how he was. 

Bracing to get Ed Sheeran shit thrown at him, Calum opened the door to a dark bedroom. It was strangely quiet, but he was happy that it was that way. Quietly, Calum tiptoed over to his desk to switch on his light so he could see his way around. Though when he turned around and was facing Ashton's bed, it was still neatly made from the morning. Calum felt slightly confused as to why Ashton wasn't back since he had left well before Calum had. But instead of texting him or anything of the sort, Calum figured that he was just going to wait until morning because the likelihood of Ashton even answering him was slim to none. 

Calum quickly stripped down to his boxers and crawled into his bed, thankful that it was the weekend because he was going to sleep for as long as he possibly could. 

\---- 

It was nearly noon when Calum woke up for the day. He would've kept sleeping if it hadn't been for Ashton coming into the room and digging around for something. Calum turned onto his side, watching as Ashton rifled through something on his bed. His back was to the tan boy, so he didn't notice that he was even awake.

"Well, the roles have certainly switched. Welcome home, wild cat," Calum spoke, his voice low and groggy sounding. Ashton didn't respond and continued to look for whatever it was that he was searching for. Calum just rolled his eyes as he propped himself up on his elbow. "Hello? Earth to Ashton."

Ashton didn't turn and just continued sifting through his desk. "It was better when you were asleep."

"Someone has sand in their vagina," Calum grumbled, putting up his tough guy act. 

Ashton turned around, looking at Calum with a bothered expression. "Do you really lack that much empathy?" 

"If that's another word for pathetic, how rude," Calum answered. "That's the last time I take you out." 

"You are absolutely right on that. I am never wasting my time on you again," Ashton snapped. "Do you even realize why it is that I supposedly have sand in my nonexistent vagina? I'd imagine not because you are about as attuned to others as a blind pig." 

"You seem to know so much about me, yet you haven't even taken the time to get to know who I am," Calum pointed out, done putting up with Ashton's shit.

"Haven't I? I've learned quite a few things about you in the time that we've been here. Trust me, they aren't characteristics that I would be proud of either," Ashton snapped. 

"I could say the same for you. You're a prick," Calum retorted. 

Ashton looked at him, both fuming and bewildered. " _I'm_ the prick?! In case you've forgotten, your best friend spilled the beans on your genius plan in front of half of the campus last night. It's just my opinion, but I would consider fooling someone into friendship only to mess with them in the end is a pretty 'prick' act. Now, if you are finished, I am leaving you to rot."

Calum didn't say anything more, figuring that it wasn't worth wasting his breath anymore. Ashton left without saying another word to him, just how Calum wanted it. Closing his eyes, Calum flipped back over and decided that sleeping was just the best way to handle the day. It was strange for him not to have anything to do. Usually he would be with Luke or some of his other teammates, but now, that was clearly not going to happen. The original plan before the previous night was to hang out with Ashton for the weekend, but it obviously backfired and now Calum's plan was back to the start - more like completely ruined. 

But the weirdest part to Calum was that he actually regretted acting on the plan and for the terrible things that he had said to him. Calum never usually felt remorse.

\----

"Are you sure? I'll gladly let you have my bed if you want. That futon can't be good for your back," Bryana asked, getting her extra blanket from her closet for Ashton.

"The futon is fine, I promise. I will be talking to Drew later today, so I'll only be a burden for the weekend. I hope anyway," Ashton told her. 

After the episode at the frat party, Ashton called Anya to come pick him up. They had told him that they would keep their phones at hand in case something like that were to happen. It meant a lot to Ashton that they looked out for him like that. He had explained to them what went down and they immediately volunteered for him to stay in their room for as long as he needed. It was sweet of them, but Ashton felt like he was intruding. He had his own dorm room and he shouldn't have to stay in theirs because he was acting too sensitive. 

"Where are your clothes?" Anya asked him, looking around the room.

"They're in my closet yet," Ashton answered simply.

"The whole reason that you're staying here is so you can avoid Calum," she pointed out.

"I know, but I also am aware when he leaves the room. I'll change during those times," he explained.

"Ash, no. Stop this. I know you feel like you're feeling like a burden, but you're not. You're anything but. We wouldn't have offered you our futon if you were," Bryana piped up. "If you want, I will go with you right now and help you bring down a few outfits."

"I don't need anything more. If I do, I'll go up and get it," Ashton snapped. He was getting irked at how they were treating him as if he was a defenseless little boy. He wasn't. Ashton could man up and do things for himself. 

The two backed off as Ashton sat down on the futon and grabbed his laptop from his book bag. He had to finish writing his essay for his art history class by next Wednesday, so he was going to use it as a distraction from the recent events. His academics were more important and should stay his priority. Calum and all of this unneeded drama was going to be pushed to the very back of Ashton's mind - hopefully into the abyss.

Doing homework on a futon wasn't the most ideal area. It was rather uncomfortable in Ashton's eyes. He was so used to having a desk that he could simply rest his arms on and actually be somewhat comfortable. It actually made him feel like he was a lazy student without having a desk and a cup of tea. With a huff, he got up from the futon, setting his computer where he had previously been sitting while he unplugged the cord. He shoved the laptop into his book bag when the girls spoke up, trying to stop him.

"Where are you going?" Anya asked.

"I'm going to go find a table so I can finish my essay," Ashton told them. 

"Do you want to use my desk?" she asked, getting up quicker than he had ever imagined. 

"I want to be alone," he commanded, exiting the room. 

Ashton loved Bryana and Anya, he did, but he was getting aggravated. In a way, he felt like he should've kicked Calum out of the room. He could've stayed with Luke in his frat. Ashton stopped in his tracks, heavily considering going upstairs to do just that, but then chickened himself out of it. As much as he wanted to tell Calum off and get him out of the room, Ashton couldn't. That wasn't who he was as a person. 

When Ashton got downstairs, he noticed an open table. Quickly, he glanced back at the front desk to see if Drew was in, but the man's office lights were off and the door was shut. With a shrug, Ashton found a table that was closest to an outlet and also had a good view of Drew's office, so Ashton could hurry and get in there when Drew arrived. Maybe clean up the mess that he was involved in. 

Sitting at the table, Ashton brought the paper back up along with the websites he was using for reference. Usually, he was a pro at writing essays. In fact, they were his favorite assignments in the world. Except this one was taking longer and felt like more of a chore than any other essay that he had written. 

"Holy shit, I didn't think the little queer would show his face in public."

Ashton looked up at the owner of the voice, being faced with Luke. He had never talked to Luke before in his life and thought that the blonde wouldn't bother wasting his time, but apparently, Ashton's thoughts were wrong. He just stayed silent, hoping that he would just continue to walk away. But of course, that would've made Ashton's life easier. 

"What? Is the little pussy too afraid to talk to me?" Luke taunted. 

"No. It's a matter of not wanting to waste my breath on someone of your...immaturity," Ashton finally spoke.

Luke rolled his eyes. "For claiming to be so fucking smart, you're really stupid."

Luke walked off after scoffing. Ashton just rolled his eyes and went back to attempting to write his essay. He imagined that nothing happened between Calum and Luke after the previous night - if anything, it probably caused them to deviate a plan that was even more evil than the one that they had done originally. 

Ashton slouched in the chair. He couldn't believe that he was so gullible, so naive to think that Calum would just treat him like a person out of the blue. It is out of a jock's league to make a complete 360 like that. Why was Ashton so stupid to believe that Calum would be different? 

He quit typing and looked at the screen of his laptop with a frown. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, deciding that he needed to clear his mind so he could finish his essay rather than bullshitting his way through it. His mum seemed to be the only one that would be able to do that. 

_"Hello?"_ his mum answered. It was refreshing to hear her voice. 

"Hi, mum," Ashton said with a small smile on his face. "Can I talk to you?" 

_"Oh, of course, Ashton! I haven't talked to you in so long, of course you can talk to me,"_ she said so excitedly.  _"What's going on? How's university?"_

From there, Ashton went on, explaining what had happened between him and Calum. He felt uncomfortable talking about his personal issues in public, but nobody was bothering to listen to him ramble on. His mum was just listening, letting Ashton explain and vent until he was nearly in tears. He never imagined that he would shed tears over Calum and their fake friendship. Ashton had been "hurt" so many times, he thought that he had grown an immunity to the pain that this sort of thing involved. 

"I don't know why I was so stupid to have thought that he was actually trying to be my friend and treat me like a person," Ashton told his mum, his voice becoming shaky.

_"Ashton, I know how much it hurts to be duped like this and I know that you feel like an idiot for actually believing him, but you're not an idiot, Ashton. You ask me why you fell for the act and there is only one conclusion I can make; you're in a vulnerable state because you're in a new place without anyone you know around. You were looking for a friend, a familiar face that would make university even better than it already is. Usually, those people are your roommates. He acted like he overcame the differences, so you thought that you could finally have that roommate relationship that you wanted since you arrived,"_ Anne explained to him.

Ashton was silent, letting his mother's wise words sink in. "Thank you, mum. I have to finish an essay. Thank you for talking to me."

_"Of course, sweetheart. That's what I'm here for. I love you, Ashton."_

The line went dead and Ashton shifted in his chair, putting the heels of his hands over his eyes as he tried to refrain from sobbing. For the first time in the few weeks that he had been in Melbourne, Ashton wanted to go back to Sydney where he felt safe, where he was away from the vulnerability that he was forced into. He wanted to sit on his bed in his room back home and cry himself to sleep for the first time since high school. He just wanted to be alone.

\----


	13. Chapter 13

"Luke, I don't have time for you," Calum said as he went to slam the door shut.

"Oh, really? Because it looks like you just woke your ass up," Luke responded, keeping it open with his foot. "What the hell is your problem anyway?"

"What is my problem? My problem is that you ruined everything!" Calum hissed. 

Luke huffed. "I know that I fucked up, but you don't need to be an asshole about it."

"You don't get it, Luke. You fucked up everything that I had worked towards. Now I have to live with someone that hates me. Again," Calum snapped.

"Jesus, Calum. The whole idea of this was to mess with Ashton. I didn't know that you were so passionate," Luke scoffed.

"Unlike you, Luke, I'm not a complete asshole. I actually - " Calum stopped himself before he could continue. 

However, Luke quickly caught on and his eyes widened in realization. "Are you saying that you actually like the little faggot? Like, are you actually friends with him or were you just working on getting into the fag's pants?" 

Calum's jaw clenched. "He's not a faggot and neither am I. You really expected me to have a platonic friendship with him? It's impossible to pretend to be someone's friend and not develop some sense of care or some sappy shit."

"If you developed some friendship with me, you wouldn't be treating me like absolute shit," Luke retorted. 

"We aren't friends, Luke. I don't want to be friends with someone that only wants to ruin someone else's life," Calum sneered.

"Are you kidding me right now? You're making me out to be some monster that I'm not. Might I remind you that  _you_ were the one that wanted to fuck with the guy? I was just going along with it. So if you're going to be pissed at anyone, be pissed at yourself," Luke finished before turning and walking away. "Oh, and don't bother showing up to practice either."

Calum shook his head in disgust as he slammed the door shut. He disregarded the last sentence that Luke had said. Only the coach could kick him off the team and he wouldn't dare do that because Calum was a prodigy. Having him on the team gave the coach the attention and recognition from major league soccer teams that he wanted. Though it was pretty obvious that Calum was going to be the only one from the team to be drafted onto a professional team from Melbourne. It sounded conceited, but Calum had seen his teammates play. He's studied them and their not outstanding enough - especially the seniors. 

Frustrated, Calum ran his hand through his messy hair. He was annoyed with everything. He was tempted to call his dad and tell him to come pick him up so he could get away from the cloud of bullshit that was over his head. Except his dad wouldn't make the trip and would just tell him to handle life like it was a soccer game, however, it wasn't. This situation in particular wasn't. He loved his dad, but his dad didn't understand. 

Angrily, Calum put on his practice clothes so he didn't have to worry about spending too much time in the change room. All he wanted to do was go out and play and channel his frustration through the ball. He looked over at Ashton's digital clock, realizing that there were six hours until practice actually started. It was also Saturday, which was conditioning day for certain positions on the team. It wasn't Calum's, so he would be the only midfielder that would be around the place until practice actually started. 

He left the dorm room, the door slamming shut behind him as he ran down the stairs to go to the back door of the building that he never used until that point in time. The last thing that he wanted to do was have another encounter with Luke, even though he was most likely long gone by the time Calum was even out of his room. Either way, he was saving himself from running into five of his least favorite people.

As he made his way to the activity center, Calum thought. It was sad that he had so quickly gained an enemy list within the short time that he has been in Melbourne. He wasn't a bad guy. Sure, he had been a dick to Ashton when the year had first started, but other than that, Calum wasn't an asshole. He didn't think that he was anyway. What he did know was that he wasn't a people-pleaser and wasn't about to go out of his way to get someone else ahead if it meant putting himself that much farther behind. People didn't like that about him, so that's what made others think that he was an ass. It wasn't like he would deliberately go out of his way to hurt someone. 

But that's when Calum stopped mid-step, rethinking his last thought. He wasn't a bully, was he? It unnerved him to even label himself with that. There was no way that he was a bully. He just focused and made his well-being his priority. That wasn't being a bully. 

"We have to quit meeting like this." 

Calum's head snapped up to see none other than Michael Clifford walking casually towards him. "Believe me, I don't do it on purpose."

"What are you doing out and about without your little soccer posse? Are they hiding in a corner, waiting to find their next victim?" Michael sneered.

"I don't have a posse. Even if I did, I'm not an asshole like that," Calum snapped, not wanting to talk to this guy anymore than he had to. 

"Really? Could've fooled me because what you did is exactly what an asshole would do," Michael shrugged.

Calum looked at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"Cal, when something like that happens in front of an entire living room of partiers, it's not going to stay a secret forever. Being that you're one of thse popular kids, I thought you would've been nearly an expert when it came to the rumor mill," Michael told him. 

Calum just glared at him. "What happened has nothing to do with you."

"Oh, I know. That's why I'm not ripping your head off. It's hard not to, believe me," he scoffed. 

"Then why are you even talking to me?" the Kiwi boy wondered. 

"I don't know actually. Maybe because I wanted to try and believe that you actually cared about Ashton like he had tried to convince me of every single time your name came up in conversation," he shrugged. "But I knew that it was too good to be true and that's why I'm not surprised that we're in this situation now. I just wish my gut would've been wrong for Ash's sake."

"I do care about him," he snapped.

"You don't have to try and convince me anymore," Michael shook his head, looking disappointed. "I hate to say it, but you're just a bully, Calum." 

Calum just looked at the red-haired boy, lost for words. It wasn't long into their bout of silence that Michael had just continued on his way, leaving Calum there to take in the words that he had said. The only thought that was going through Calum's mind was the very last things that Michael had said to him.

Was it really true?

\----

"Fancy seeing you here."

Ashton looked up from his computer, expecting to see Luke again, but was instead faced with Michael. It was a pleasant surprise, but at the same time, he wasn't in the mood to deal with more sympathy and coddling like Bryana and Anya had dished out. 

"Hi, Michael," he greeted as the boy sat down across from him.

"I never thought I'd see you voluntarily come out of your room," Michael joked.

"What are you talking about? I go out with you, Bry, and Anya," Ashton defended, not finding the joke to be a joke.

"I'm joking, Ash. I never thought that you would do homework outside of the library or your room," Michael explained, his tone showing rejection from his joke. 

"I apologize. It has been a grueling twelve hours," Ashton admitted, not wanting to let what happened to him affect the last remaining person that wasn't aware of the previous night's events.

"Twelve hours? I would say something smart about you and homework, but I know that it doesn't have anything to do with that," Michael answered. 

Ashton's eyes widened at Michael's words. "How do you know? Did one of the girls tell you?"

"When something like that happens in a crowd, it isn't going to go unnoticed. I heard a few people talking about it this morning," Michael told him. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Sleep isn't the term that I would use for it," Ashton shrugged, feeling like he had looked like a lazy teenager. Normally, that would bother him because he always made sure that he looked presentable, but now, it didn't matter to him at all. All he wanted to do was go to bed for a few weeks and forget about the world. "Bryana and Anya's futon isn't the most comfortable."

"You want to live in my room? My roommate dropped out, so I have an extra bed until semester," Michael offered.

"No, I couldn't intrude on your privacy like that," Ashton said. He was tempted to say yes, but he didn't like the feeling that came with it. He felt like he was a burden and a mooch, which was the exact opposite of what he was. "I'm only there until the end of the weekend. I am going to be talking to Drew about moving into a single room."

"If you insist. Just know, that you're not intruding on my privacy and the offer is always on the table," Michael smiled as he got up from the table and walked away. 

Just as soon as Michael had left, Drew walked into the office and turned the lights on. Ashton hurriedly packed his stuff and ran towards the office so he was the first in line to talk to the man. He already knew that Drew was on his side because he didn't like Calum at all, so that meant that he would sympathize and it also gave Ashton more guarantee of moving.

Once he was to the closed door, Ashton quickly knocked. He heard a faint "come in" from Drew and Ashton quickly opened the door to find the older man looking at his laptop, most likely reading the email that Ashton had sent out of anger the night before.

"Ashton, what can I do for you?" Drew asked, looking up at Ashton with a somewhat surprised look. "I was just about to read your email, but since you're here now, you might as well tell me in person."

"I would like to move into a single room," Ashton said bluntly.

Drew looked at him, taken aback by the boy's snappy demand. "Well, I'm going to need to know why you're so adamant about it."

"Calum played a cruel joke on me with his teammates and I refuse to live with him because it makes me sick to my stomach just looking at him," Ashton said quickly, just wanting to move onto the paperwork.

"Well, I understand why you're angry, but I'm afraid that it's not enough to move you out of your room while all dorms are still under lock down. What kind of joke was it? Was it hazing of some sort? Bullying?" Drew asked.

"It was definitely bullying! He pretended to be my friend and was planning to hurt me somehow in the end with some type of humiliation prank. He and Luke Hemmings are behind it," Ashton summed up, finding it hard to explain without getting overly angry. 

"Luke Hemmings? I remember him quite well. I can't say that I was proud to have him living in my dormitory," Drew said. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Ashton, but I'm afraid that you're not going to be able to move into a single room right now for a couple of reasons. One being that there is a room lock and the second being that there isn't any single rooms available. Going along with the room lock, there's an indefinite one on yours because of Calum's probation. Now I know that it has nothing to do with you and you shouldn't have to be punished, but that's the way that Melbourne chooses to deal with it. I wish I could give you a different set of keys, but I'm afraid I can't." 

"My friend Michael has an open room because his roommate dropped out! Can I move into his room? We've already talked about it," Ashton rushed to say.

"I wish I could say that you could, but that falls under the lock down violations," Drew told him. "I'm sorry, but until all lock downs are lifted, you're address is going to be the same as Calum's. I'm really sorry, Ashton."

\----


	14. Chapter 14

"So you have to get punished for Calum's idiocy?" Bryana asked.

"Yes! It isn't fair! I don't want to live somewhere where I don't feel safe," Ashton continued. He knew that he was whining, but he also was angry and upset that he had to be punished for something that he didn't have any participation in. It wasn't any logic in it. 

"You know, I could talk to Anya...maybe you could too," Bryana trailed. 

Ashton looked at her with a confused expression. "Talk to her about what? How much I hate Calum or how stupid this ordeal is?" 

"Well, along with that. You know how she works at the front desk?" she continued. 

"Yes..." Ashton answered. Bryana just looked at him, trying to hint at what she was implying. When he finally realized what she was meaning. "No! Absolutely not. I refuse to have her risk her job for me."

"Ashton, it's the only way that you'll be able to get your own room. Nobody has to know. You'd just be staying in the room until you're able to move," Bryana explained.

"And what if they go around and check the empty rooms? What am I supposed to do then? Say that I must've mistaken it as mine when I have a shitty roommate and all of my things are in there? I'm not quite sure that they'll buy that," Ashton explained to her. He wanted to get out of his room, but he wouldn't exploit his best friend for it. 

"Don't you see that Anya would have your back? She could talk Drew into letting you stay there because he worships her. Come on, Ashton," Bryana begged. "Sometimes you have to do illegal things to get to where you want to go."

Ashton's face twisted. "Who in the world said that? Snoop Dog?"

Bryana just laughed. "No, no. My dad says it."

"Please tell me that he would say it in a joking context," Ashton said, hoping that he wasn't temporarily living with a potential criminal.

"Of course it was!" Bryana said, playful shoving Ashton's shoulder. "The only time he says it is when we're crunched for time and we have to speed a little bit to wherever we have to be. Do you honestly believe that I would do something illegal?"

"Well, judging by the amount of pressure you're putting on me to do something illegal, I am starting to reconsider that answer," Ashton responded.

Bryana rolled her eyes, a smile still on her face. "I'm one of the most harmless people that you'll ever meet. But I don't know if I should be insulted or complicated that you think that I have what it takes to commit a crime."

"Well, I didn't mean it as a compliment," Ashton chuckled. "Now in all seriousness, I am not going to force Anya to risk her job over my issues."

"So, what are you going to do? As much as we love you, you can't live here forever," Bryana shrugged.

"I am going to have to learn to live with it. It isn't like he is going to be in the room for long anyway. He has to spend time with his douche bags," Ashton told her. He was trying his darnedest to see the light in the situation, but it was beginning to get near impossible. With every minute, his hate and anger towards Calum got stronger and stronger. "I think I will just move back into my room tonight. I've caused enough burden on you two."

"Ashton, no. I'm not saying that you can't stay with us for a few more days. I'm just saying that the futon can't be your permanent bed," Bryana clarified.

"It's not because of what you said, Bry. It's because I feel that I can't continue to run away from this. I need to get used to living with the devil," Ashton told her. 

With a huff, Ashton began to grab his belongings and pile them neatly on the futon so he could hurry and get away in one trip. He had appreciated that Bryana and Anya had given up their futon to him for the weekend, but even though it had only been one night, he decided that it was time that he get out of their hair while bucking up and dealing with his problem. If his mum had taught him anything, it was to face the issue head on...and hope for the best. The best was most likely going to be the hold being lifted from the room. Either that or they would continue to avoid each other until the time came that they didn't have to be roommates. 

Bryana just watched with a sad look on her face while Ashton avoided looking at her. When he had all of his things together, he turned to his blonde friend. "If he happens to be away, I'm going to stay in there. If he unfortunately happens to be there, I will come back. Thank you again for offering your room."

"You're welcome any time, Ashton," Bryana said with a weak smile. "Do you need help carrying anything?"

Ashton shook his head. "No, thank you. I've got it from here."

That being said, he picked up the few things that he had in his arms and made his way back to his dorm room, hoping that Satan himself wouldn't be awaiting his return.

\----

Calum wrapped his shower towel around his neck, not looking forward to going back to the room. Even though he knew that Ashton wouldn't be there, he was still dreading the fact that he would have to go back to an empty room that was infested with so much anger and hatred. He was still thinking about Michael's words to him before he got to the Activity Center. It was hard to think of himself as a bully. He thought that he was an okay person, but to hear such a dehumanizing term used by someone that he hadn't talked to all that much effected him on much more powerful level. 

He knew that if he asked Ashton if it were true that Ashton would immediately answer yes. Either that or just continue to ignore him. Calum didn't blame Ashton for thinking that way because he hadn't been the nicest to him and he knew that. If you would've asked him at the beginning of the year if he felt bad about being such a dick, he would've said absolutely not. But now that he somewhat got to know Ashton, he felt like punching himself in the face. How was he a complete asshole if he felt bad about it?

After he had gotten dressed, he checked his phone to see if anyone contacted him, but like he had assumed, they didn't. It wasn't really normal for his iPhone to be free of notifications like that, but considering that the majority of his friends at Melbourne hated him and his friends from back home wanted nothing to do with him because he was no longer close enough to them, it wasn't going to be all that uncommon anymore. Everything in him pushed him to call Ashton, but something still stopped him. For one, it was unlikely that the kid would even answer. That and he also wouldn't know what to say. Calum wanted everything to be better but it wasn't going to be like that. Not in the least. He didn't blame Ashton for any hatred that he had towards him. Calum deserved it.

The walk back to his dorm building was faster than it seemed when he had originally left. Then again, he had ran into Michael and had that awkward conversation on the way there. On the way back, it was like everyone had locked themselves into their rooms and didn't plan on coming back out. The idea sounded tempting to Calum actually. 

It was when Calum got back to his room that he was greeted with a surprise. Instead of going back to a empty and cold room, there was someone waiting for him. Well, they weren't waiting for him. It was Ashton, sitting at his desk, watching something on Youtube. Calum quietly walked in, not sure if he should greet him or anything like that. There was the part of him that wanted to be the bigger person and say hello, but the other part of him knew that he wouldn't get a response from him. So, with a sad look, Calum just set his bag down as he collapsed onto his bed and went onto his phone to scroll through social media and get caught up on his favorite sports teams before he fell asleep. 

\----

To say that there was an awkward and tense tension in the room was an understatement. Calum had never felt so unwelcomed somewhere before and the worst part was that it was  _his_ room. He shouldn't have to feel like that. It also wasn't like he could leave and stay with someone else because he was pretty sure that his so-called friends from the team weren't talking to him just because of Luke. So, he was virtually left with nobody. That was a side that Calum had never been on. He always had someone before he came to Melbourne. 

As he laid there and listened to the silence, occasionally glancing up at Ashton, who was still watching whatever video he had been, Calum felt himself growing angry. He was beginning to get annoyed with putting up with this ignoring shit that Ashton was pulling. Calum wasn't going to live in tension for the rest of the year when he didn't have to. If Ashton wanted to leave that bad, then he could get the fuck out. Calum wasn't going anywhere. He was technically there first. 

"You know, if you're going to keep ignoring me like you're a teenage girl, then you can leave," Calum grumbled.

"Oh, believe me, I would love to," Ashton answered. 

"Then why don't you? I'm not going to fucking stop you. Hell, I'll pack your bags!" Calum continued, knowing that he was pushing Ashton's buttons.

"I would, but I can't! Do you know why?" Ashton challenged, his voice filled with so much anger. 

"Because you're too fucking stubborn?!" Calum responded.

"No! Because you are too stupid to have passed your high school classes and now we're stuck under a room lock! Do you think that I'm happy that I also have to be punished for your dumbness?!" Ashton screamed at him, not caring how offensive he was.

Calum was now standing in front of Ashton, more infuriated than he was before. "Fuck you, Ashton. You know, I actually felt kind of bad for how I treated you, but now I don't fucking care. You're an asshole and I fucking hate y-"

That's when Calum and Ashton were standing together with their lips pressed together. It was definitely something unexpected, however, neither of them were doing anything to stop it.

\----


	15. Chapter 15

Both Ashton and Calum broke apart, looking at each other with bewildered expressions. Ashton couldn't believe that he had just kissed the boy that he had felt so angry with, so hateful towards. It made him feel filthy that he had locked lips with the one person that was ruining his life. As his face reddened he turned around and grabbed his phone, just wanting to leave the room as he felt that it was closing in on him.

"I, erm, I have to go talk to Bry," Ashton stuttered, stumbling around the room.

"Ashton, wait," Calum said with a huff. "Can we please talk about this?"

"Talk about what? There's nothing at all to talk about," Ashton stammered out, nearly running into the door on his exit. 

Ashton left the room, not wanting to turn back. What he couldn't get himself to wrap his head around was the fact that he hadn't stopped himself or Calum from continuing the kiss. It was his first kiss and he had soiled it with someone that he had thought he despised with all his heart. As soon as he was on Bryana and Anya's floor, he rushed to their room and barged into the unlocked room. The blonde and brunette looked up from where they were sitting, both of them having appalled looks on their faces. 

"Is everything okay? You looked like you just walked in on your parents during nakey-time," Bryana asked. 

"I just kissed Calum Hood," Ashton blurted, causing the two girls' mouths to fall open to the floor. 

"You did what now?" Anya asked.

"Did I hear you right? You just kissed the guy that you hate?" Bryana asked.

"Yes, you did," Ashton gulped. "I honestly do not know what in the world just happened."

The girls invited Ashton to sit on the futon and explain what had happened within the short time that Ashton had been settled back into his original dorm room and that very moment. As he explained, the girls just looked puzzled. Ashton didn't blame him as he was just as confused as they were. 

"Do either of you have peroxide? Anything that will cleanse my mouth free of Calum?" Ashton asked when he was done explaining the strange events.

"I'm afraid that won't make the memory go away, buddy boy," Anya answered. 

"I can't believe that Calum stole my first kiss...I was saving it for someone special. I wanted to give it away, not have it taken from me," Ashton continued, knowing that he was sounding dramatic, but not caring either. 

"Calm, Ash. It's just a kiss. You still have your virginity," Bryana shrugged. 

Ashton's head snapped in her direction. "Giving away your first kiss is just as important as giving away your virginity. It's just as special."

Bryana put her hands up in surrender, not wanting to face the wrath of Ashton. "Okay, okay, you're right."

Ashton put his head in his hands, just wanting to hide in a corner. He didn't know how he was going to go back to his room because he felt so much shame and dirtiness. Even a thousand showers wouldn't take away the filth that he felt. That was just how ashamed he was. Ashton could feel Bryana watching him with her big brown puppy eyes, making Ashton feel even worse. 

"Don't you think that you're being the slightest bit dramatic? I know that it's an important milestone and all, but you don't need to act like your mum just died," Anya told him. 

"Anya, I'm afraid that you don't understand. This isn't solely about losing a first kiss. This is about who took it away from me and why it happened in the first place. While it isn't a big deal in your opinion, it is in mine. My mother raised me to value these certain events that will happen in my lifetime and to let them happen with someone special. Calum is certainly  _not_ that special person. Knowing that an event that I have always viewed as monumental as marriage was taken from me by someone that I despise makes me feel filthy. I just gave that chance of having someone special in my life away to someone that doesn't deserve it," Ashton scolded. 

The two girls were quiet, looking unsure of what to respond to that with. Ashton rose up from the futon, tears filling his eyes, and left the room, not wanting to be surrounded and judged by people that didn't understand or choose to understand. It wasn't just about the kiss itself. It was about  _who._ It was about  _why he didn't break free._

\----

Calum ran his hands through his hair with frustration. He didn't know what the hell had washed over him. Hell, he didn't even know if it was him or Ashton who had initiated the kiss. It was all kind of blurry. Another thing that was blurry was why he had continued it. Never before had Calum kissed a boy and never before had he dreamed that he would. And he never imagined that it would be with someone that hated his guts. If Calum would've had the choice, he would've rather kissed someone cool like Jack Barakat of All Time Low or Zac Efron. 

Calum tossed on a shirt, figuring that it was time to find Ashton and actually talk to the kid about what had happened so they were on the same page. However, Calum had a feeling that Ashton was off in hiding again. Not that he blamed him, but it would still make it easier if Ashton learned to just confront his problems instead of running away like a little bitch. 

That's when Calum found himself walking down to Bryana and Anya's room. Granted, he hadn't talked to them before his and Ashton's falling out and could only imagine how infuriated they were at him, but he knew that they were the only two people in the building that he would run to. If Calum wanted to find him, he was going to have to confront them. Not only that, but he was also going to have to be a little more demanding towards them because he was pretty convinced that they weren't going to give away Ashton's location just like that. 

Hesitantly, Calum knocked on the girls' door. He was going to say something because he knew that they were in there according to their whiteboard, but he knew that if he did, they wouldn't answer it at all. And that's when Calum saw the peephole and quickly covered it with his thumb. He couldn't risk anything. 

The door opened and Bryana was standing before him, an annoyed expression plastered on her face. Calum never understood why, but he found it hot that she hated him. "What do you want?"

"Okay, before you close the door in my face or lie to me, I need you to hear me out," Calum began. Bryana took her stance, crossing her arms, prompting Calum to continue. "I know that I don't have a good track record with you or Anya or Ashton and I am truly sorry for that. It's been brought to my attention that I may have been somewhat of a bully to you, Anya, and Ashton -"

"Somewhat?" Bryana snorted.

Calum responded with a stern look before continuing. "And I am truly sorry about the things I've said and did that have come off that way. Over the past few weeks that Ashton has had me around you guys, I've realized just how wrong I was with thinking that any of you were losers - except you, Bryana. I never thought you were - but that's besides the point. I didn't mean to be such an asshole. I'm sorry."

Bryana just stood there staring at him, not looking like she was going to buy or accept Calum's apology. Anya appeared beside her, giving Calum the once over as well. Calum had never felt so ganged up on, especially by girls.

"Please accept my apology," Calum begged, not sure what to do. He's never really had to do such a thing before.

"I would say we give him a chance. I mean, he did give it some effort," Anya told Bryana, neither of their eyes leaving Calum.

"You think? I feel like he could do better. Or he could just try to prove it to us before accepting his apology," Bryana suggested.

"C'mon, B. The first step is accepting his apology. After that, he can prove it to us and if he doesn't succeed, we make his life a living hell," Anya negotiated. 

A vengeful smirk formed on Bryana's lips as Anya spoke. "Fine. We'll accept your apology, but you're going to have to give Ashton that bullshit speech again because that's  _your_ dirty work."

"Wait, Ashton isn't in here?" Calum asked, surprised.

"No. He just stormed out a few minutes ago. I'm surprised that you didn't run into him. Is that why you came down here?" Bryana asked, her tone getting angrier. 

"Well, no, not completely," Calum answered and watched as Bryana's eyes narrowed. "Not that I didn't mean anything I said because I did. I've been meaning to apologize to you guys."

"Thought so," Bryana grunted, her eyes going back to the hard glare. 

"Do you know where he went?" the boy wondered, holding onto hope that Ashton had decided to give away where he was storming off to. 

"No, he just got up and left because he thought that Anya and I didn't understand...erm, why he was feeling the way he was feeling," Bryana told him. 

Calum felt his heart drop slightly as he realized what she was meaning. "Oh..."

"Listen, if you don't feel like he does about this, I wouldn't even try to talk to him. It's just to keep peace between you two..." Anya told Calum. 

"Okay...thank you so much," Calum thanked, walking away from the girls' room.

Calum suddenly felt uneasy as he heard those words. He was curious to ask what they meant, but he knew that it would be harder to hear the words instead of just thinking them. Thinking about him being gay made him cringe and want to throw up, but then again, he couldn't deny the fact that he enjoyed the kiss he shared with Ashton. His brain was starting to hurt just trying to sort out his feelings in his head. 

However, the most uneasy feeling he was having was wondering how Ashton felt about this.

\----


	16. Chapter 16

Calum finally found Ashton sitting on a bench, his headphones in and a sad look crossing his face. Calum was honestly scared about what he was about to walk into. If Ashton felt the way that he was assuming, Calum didn't know what he would say. He didn't think he was gay. He never questioned it actually. Now that Ashton could be asking whether or not he was and Calum didn't know how to respond. The last thing that he wanted to do was give him the wrong answer. The unfortunate part was that he didn't know what the wrong answer was.

Cautiously, Calum walked in front of the bench and sat on the opposite end of Ashton. Ashton lifted his eyes, the emotion on his face unreadable. In Calum's opinion, it looked like a mixture of hurt and anger, thought Calum has been wrong before. He didn't know what to say to Ashton. He didn't want to make him any angrier nor did he want to chase the boy any further away.

"What do you want?" Ashton asked taking one of his earbuds out.

"I wanted to talk to you. I know I'm probably the last person you want to see," Calum shrugged, trying to lighten his mood.

"I'd have to say that everyone on this campus are the last people I want to see," Ashton scoffed.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I kissed you. I'm not saying it's a mistake or anything like that, but if it were going to happen to us in the future, it shouldn't have happened that way," Calum explained.

Ashton brought his eyes back up as he stopped picking at the hem of his shirt. "You ought to know that you were my first kiss. You also ought to know that I didn't want you to be."

Calum snapped his head up to Ashton. "Wait, what?"

Ashton rolled his eyes. "Unlike what you think, the world doesn't revolve around you and not everyone likes you. I happen to fall under that category."

"Anya made it sound like it was the other way around," Calum said, earning a snort from Ashton. 

"Anya? Since when did you two start socializing?" Ashton laughed. "I highly doubt that she would've said any of that to you. I'm actually surprised that you aren't harassing me about not having a first kiss until now."

Calum looked back at Ashton, feeling somewhat hurt by his words. "I stopped by their room because I was looking for you and that's where I thought you would be. And just so you know, I would never do that to you."

"I'm open to people having different sexual orientations, but that does not mean that I have a different sexual orientation," Ashton scoffed. "I don't know where Anya even got the idea from."

Calum remembered that he had made fun of Ashton's Ed Sheeran posters, calling him gay and what not for having them. That's when a huge wave of guilt washed over him. While he did it jokingly, he felt bad that he had actually did that to him because he knew that Ashton didn't take it as a joke. The two of them didn't have the same sense of humor, there wasn't a doubt about that. 

"Ashton, I'm sorry for everything hurtful that I have ever said to you. It wasn't fair to make fun of you or harass you. I was making your time here miserable and that isn't at all fair to you," Calum blurted, wanting to get his feelings out before he closed himself off. 

Ashton looked at him, surprised. "Are you actually apologizing to me?"

"I mean, I guess I am. I realize that what I've done hasn't been the nicest and I know that you don't want to believe it, but after getting to know you in that short time, I've realized that you're not that bad of a person. I know that our friendship started out as a trick, but I want you to know that it quickly turned into a real friendship to me and I regret that I ever agreed to trick you. I should've never have taken you to that party. I was hoping that if I just ignored it, it would go away and you would never find out, but that obviously backfired, thanks to Luke," Calum continued. "And these circumstances weren't what I imagined, but it is what it is. I really am sorry for being a shitty person and I'm also sorry for taking your first kiss away. I understand how much that may mean to you and I went ahead and took it away. I've never really apologized to anyone, so I don't even know if I'm doing this right. But if you could find it in you to forgive me, that would be amazing because I would really like to have you as a friend. But if you can't forgive me, I don't blame you because I was a really shit roommate and human being."

Ashton didn't say anything and just sat still, not making eye contact with Calum. It made the Kiwi boy feel awkward. He felt so vulnerable with his apology, but he didn't regret it either. He knew that it had to be done eventually. He just wished that Ashton would say something to him.

"You are certainly right; you were a very terrible person to me and I didn't appreciate it at all. I guess my question is why should I forgive you?" Ashton wondered. Leave it to him to make it more difficult for Calum.

"You shouldn't, I guess. You don't really have any reason to. I just wanted to apologize for all of the shitty things I did in hopes of getting on a better page with you and I would like to be friends and a better roommate, but that's just what I want and visualize. But it's not up to me because I wasn't the victim to my stupidity. It's all up to you. I'll understand either way," Calum prompted. He knew that there was nothing that he was going to be able to do to change Ashton's mind. He was preparing for the worst because he didn't deserve redemption. 

"I accept your apology, Calum. I really admire and appreciate that you took responsibility for your actions," Ashton said. "I would like us to have a friendly relationship rather than hostile. If those feelings and actions were true, I can see that you're a good person as well. However, just because I accept your apology, it's going to take more than that to make me forgive you."

Calum nodded, understanding what he was meaning. "You're right and I understand that it's going to take an act of God in order for you to be able to trust me again. I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

A small smile formed on Ashton's face, causing Calum to feel less vulnerable and better about putting himself out there. It wasn't something that he regretted like he had originally thought. Without another word, Ashton moved himself over and wrapped his arms around Calum. It wasn't often that Calum got hugs from people other than his mum. 

The two roommates got up from the bench and began walking back towards their dorm building. Calum felt relief and joy brewing inside of him. He never thought that he would be saying that he was glad that he was going to friends with Ashton.

\----

"God, would you just talk to them? Their getting fucking annoying," Michael exasperated, throwing his phone down on the table. 

"Why should I? They insulted my morals and I am not going to forget that it ever happened. Those are important to me," Ashton answered, referring to Bryana and Anya.

"You do realize that they weren't deliberately trying to offend you, right? Those two love you to death," Michael tried to tell him. "And I'm also sick of them blowing up my phone. I should've never have told them that I was going to be with you guys."

"Since I thought they assumed the wrong thing about what happened, what did they actually do?" Calum asked, curious as to why Ashton was so upset with two-thirds of his best friends. 

"They degraded my morals about a first kiss! They acted like me setting value to it was just plain stupid when it certainly isn't!" Ashton explained.

Calum looked up, catching the warning look that Michael was giving him. Calum wasn't sure what he was meaning, but he knew for sure that he wasn't going to disagree or degrade what Ashton said. He didn't need the kid mad at him again. "You're right. It's not right to demoralize someone else's values. I don't blame you for being angry."

"See? Calum agrees with me. The least smart one of this threesome is actually acting smart for once," Ashton pointed out while Calum began to chuckle. "What are you laughing at?"

"You said threesome," Calum chuckled.

Ashton rolled his eyes. "You've successfully ruined the compliment."

"I'm actually surprised to see you two talking and not killing each other. May I ask what the hell happened?" Michael wondered. 

"Calum came to me and apologized, taking responsibility for his terrible actions and I decided to accept his apology. He has to work for his forgiveness and trust though," Ashton told him.

"Damn. I'm still shocked that you would even listen to him. He was a big asshole. No offense, Calum," Michael said. 

"I was an asshole. But I don't plan on being one anymore," Calum smiled. 

It was then that Michael and Calum got into some conversation while Ashton just looked over at his roommate with a smile. He didn't think he would regret giving Calum another chance. Something told him that the boy deserved it. He also was starting to wonder if he actually regretted giving his first kiss to Calum.

\----


	17. Chapter 17

Ashton woke up, feeling slightly confused when he realized that he was in his dorm room. He looked over and saw Calum was fast asleep, his snores being the only noise filling the room. It was then that the memories of the day before washed over him. Ashton just stayed where he was, reflecting on his life since he had started at Melbourne. It was certainly more drama-filled than he had originally planned for and imagined. However, while he didn't think about it before when it was happening, it now made sense to Ashton that it all had happened for a reason. All of the pain and humiliation that he had went through had led him to what was happening in his life. In a way, Ashton felt somewhat thankful. But in another way, he was resentful about how it happened.

His phone began to vibrate on his desk, creating a loud noise to echo throughout the small space. Hopping out of bed, Ashton grabbed the shaking device before it woke Calum up. The last thing that he wanted to do was wake his roommate and risk being yelled at. However, he remembered that Calum could most likely sleep through a hurricane and he just rolled his eyes. But he looked down on the screen and he spotted a missed call. Ashton quickly called his voicemail and realized that the only missed message that he had was from someone that he could've gone the rest of his life without talking to.

Luke Hemmings.

And then he started wondering how the bully even got his number. From what Ashton could remember, it wasn't connected to his Facebook page. He didn't even use his Facebook enough for it to be connected. His mind went to Calum, but last the boy told him, they weren't talking. Luke wouldn't talk to Michael. Or Anya. He might talk to Bryana, but Bryana wouldn't waste her breath on him, knowing who and what the sport star was capable of.

However, he was curious as to why Luke was calling him. Other than the need to harass him, Ashton couldn't think of any reason. Figuring that he would ignore it, Ashton set his phone down. He would ask Calum when he woke up, even though Ashton already had an idea of what Calum's thoughts were going to be.

Ashton grabbed out his red sweater, only to hear the familiar grunting and groaning of Calum waking up. Ashton turned around, sweater in his hands, watching as his roommate flailed around in order to wake himself up. It wasn't like Ashton got a kick out of just watching Calum; he was self-conscious and didn't want to change in front of him. The thought of Calum or someone other than his mum seeing him naked made him uncomfortable.

"Sleep well?" Ashton asked his roommate.

"I wasn't sleeping," Calum said with a hoarse voice.

"Of course not. The snores and heavy breathing that came out of you were just natural noises that happen when you're wide awake," Ashton pointed out.

"Is Ashton Irwin being sarcastic? I never thought the day would come," Calum asked, a smirk forming on his face. "Why are you up so early anyway?"

"Someone had called me and the vibration of my phone woke me," Ashton explained to him.

"Who would be calling you at the ass crack of dawn?" Calum groaned.

"None other than the famous Luke Hemmings," Ashton revealed, earning a puzzled look from Calum.

"Are you sure?" Calum asked after a minute.

"Yes. It was his voice and the voice also clarified that it was him on the other side of the line," he confirmed.

"What did he want?" the Kiwi boy wondered.

"He just wanted to talk. I wasn't sure that I should answer or respond to him as he may just be looking for an invitation to harass me," Ashton shrugged.

Ashton watched as a quizzical look formed on Calum's face. Curiosity was gnawing at Ashton's mind, almost making it impossible for him to ignore it. It was getting to the point where Calum's suggestion wasn't going to mean anything, as much as Ashton didn't want that.

"Don't talk to him until I do. I want to make sure that he isn't going to hurt you or anything like that," Calum instructed.

Ashton nodded in understanding, knowing that his roommate was only trying to prove that he had his back. It meant a lot to Ashton and he was thankful that Calum was doing that, but he was still curious as to finding out what the man wanted. Part of him was tempted to talk to him despite what Calum told him.

\----

Calum walked over to the workout area of the athletic center on campus, determined to find out what in the name of God Luke wanted with Ashton. There was something inside Calum that was infuriated, causing him to want to ask questions like  _what the hell do you want with him? why do you want to talk to Ashton?_ He felt protective over his roommate, which was weird. He had never necessarily felt that before - over anyone. Why was he all of a sudden feeling it for Ashton?

When he got to the gym, he cut straight through the locker room, knowing that Luke would be well into his workout by now. It had been what felt like eons since Calum spoke to Luke. Well, at least civilly. He wasn't sure if this encounter would be that civil either. Most likely not.

Luke was in the middle of lifting a dumbbell, his face focused so he didn't even notice Calum angrily sauntering towards him. Something in Calum urged to scare Luke so he would drop the weight on his foot, just because he betrayed him, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

Luke finally noticed Calum was standing there and he set down the dumbbell, giving the black haired boy a smirk as he grabbed his sweat towel. Calum wasn't impressed with the way that Luke was trying to put on a show and be some macho man.

"Hey, Cal. Long time, no chat," Luke said, trying to be suave.

"I'm not here for tea time chat, Hemmings," Calum started.

"So, you're just standing here and stalking me while I work out? Sure you're not a homo like your lover boy?" Luke jabbed.

Anger boiled in the put of Calum's stomach as he listened to Luke's hateful speech. It wasn't so much that Luke was insulting him; it was that he was insulting Ashton. "Fuck no. Believe me, if I were gay, I wouldn't spend my time on your shallow ass."

"Well, instead of just standing here trying to come up with shitty comebacks, what the hell do you want? I have a workout to get back to," Luke sassed, pretending Calum's words didn't affect him.

"Why the fuck did you call Ashton? So you can torment him?" Calum spat.

A maniacal smirk formed on Luke's lips. "Getting defensive about someone that you supposedly hate? If that's the new definition of mortal enemy, then I better get an updated dictionary."

"Answer my question, dumb shit. Why are you calling Ashton? What do you want from him? Are you going to torment him and make him feel like shit again? Or what, are you and your little frat fuck buddies going to torture him? Because if that's the case, I'm not going to let that fucking happen," Calum insulted, getting in Luke's face.

Calum could see the fire ignite in Luke's eyes before he exploded at Calum, trying to show his false authority. "I'm your damn captain and you treat me with fucking respect, you little faggot. It is none of your fucking business what I do in my frat house or who I talk to in my spare time. So why don't you just butt your little fake ass out of my business and go back to humping your roommate. And if you do this again, I'm going to make sure that you don't get recruited by any professional footie teams  _ever."_

As much as Calum wanted to continue pushing Luke to get his answer, but he was too scared of the threat Luke had thrown out there. Calum didn't know what Luke was capable of and he didn't want to risk fucking up his future. He knew that Ashton would avoid Luke, so there wasn't any reason for Calum to have to put himself back into a situation such as the one that he was in.

"All I'm asking is that you stay the fuck away from him," Calum warned, throwing his arms up in surrender as he backed away from the jock, not wanting to raise anymore cane. 

Calum then left the gym, on his way to tell Ashton to delete the message and lose Luke's number, maybe even block it so there isn't any chance of Luke trying to harass him. He wouldn't let Ashton know about the threat, not wanting to make him worry. Things were still a bit awkward, at least for Calum it was. Despite talking to Ashton about what had happened, he still felt a little uneasy about it. Ever since it happened, he felt like it changed him. He knew he wasn't gay. He never had feelings for another guy. But there was something that concerned him with the fact that he had initiated the kiss. It made him wonder if he was something other than straight. But then again, maybe it was that natural thing he did when he wanted someone to quit talking, despite the fact that he had only done that to his girlfriends. He just wasn't so sure anymore.

\----


	18. Chapter 18

Within the amount of time that Calum was gone, Ashton had come to conclusions that he was going to talk to Luke whether Calum told him to or not. It wasn't that he didn't trust what Calum was going to say because, in this case, he did. But he was going to figure it out for himself. His mind and curiosity was getting the best of him about what the captain of the soccer team wanted from him. 

The door opened, scaring the hell out of Ashton. Calum walked in, a smoldering look on his face. It somewhat scared Ashton because angry Calum wasn't exactly the most delightful version of him that he had ever witnessed. 

"Is everything alright?" Ashton asked with caution.

"Avoid Luke at all costs," Calum sneered. "He doesn't want to sit down and become friends with you. He wants to hurt you and make your life a living hell. And if I have anything to do with it, I will kill him before he tries to hurt you."

Ashton looked at Calum, feeling slightly scared as he listened to his roommate sneer and growl about Luke. It made him feel like his urge to find out whatever it was that Luke wanted was actually the worst idea he had ever had and he was going to go to Hell just for thinking about it.

"What did he say that it was he was calling me for?" Ashton asked, earning nothing but angered silence from Calum. "Please, if he told you, I would appreciate you telling me. I would like to know why he wanted to victimize me."

Calum let out a huff of air. "He didn't exactly tell me what it was that he wanted, but I know that it isn't good by the way he was taunting me and I don't want you to find out. I didn't press him about either."

Ashton furrowed his brow. "I thought that was the reason that you went to find him."

"It was..." Calum trailed, his angry gaze turning into one of uncertainty. "He threatened to ruin my soccer career if I were to keep disrespecting him and bothering him."

"He threatened you?! Calum, you can tell the coach. Tell the Dean of Students. He can't threaten to ruin your career! That's harassment and against the law!" Ashton told him, running to his roommate's side, knowing that the sport meant everything and then some to Calum. The last thing that he wanted was for his roommate's career and dreams to be demolished because of  _him._

"I can't tell the coach or the dean, Ashton. That's just asking for Luke's wrath. I'm not really about that life," Calum said, crashing on his bed. 

Ashton stood there for a second, feeling like a complete jerk for putting Calum's life on the line. Now it was up to Ashton to figure out Luke's need and also to make sure that Calum's career wouldn't get ruined. He was going to have to befriend Luke if he was going to make sure everything was smoothed over. He just wished that there was a better way.

"I'm going to be meeting Michael at the cafe. Are you going to be okay here alone? You're welcome to join us, but I'm going to be helping him with an English essay," Ashton suddenly blurted, knowing that it was basically a flat out lie. He was going to meet Michael, but he wasn't going for homework purposes. He was going to discuss the Luke situation, but now it had a whole new meaning.

"I'll be fine. I'm not a hurt puppy, Ashton. I'm a big boy," Calum said, giving his concerned roommate a smirk and wink. 

Ashton blushed and returned it with an awkward half smile. "Okay, if you say so."

With that, Ashton grabbed his book bag to make it convincing to Calum. He felt bad for lying to him, but he needed to discuss things with someone that didn't have anything against Luke. Michael was that person. He would be able to give him the words of wisdom and hopefully a solution to this issue that originally wasn't that much of an issue. 

As Ashton walked in the direction of the cafe, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He quickly fished it out and saw Bryana's contact picture crossing his caller i.d. Quickly, tapping the 'reject' icon, he shoved the device back into his pants pocket without another thought about it. He knew that he should talk out his issue with Bryana and Anya, but he felt like he needed to get the Luke situation figured out first. He also was still a little peeved by them demoralizing his beliefs. That's just not right. It was on top of his pet peeve list - right after drinking out of his cup. That was something that pushed Ashton over the edge.

Once he arrived at the cafe, he saw Michael's bright red hair over in the corner across the room. He was on his laptop, working on what looked to be something to do with his computer class. It was definitely over Ashton's head. Quickly, Ashton ordered a hot chocolate, requesting for them to bring it over to their table instead of him having to stand there and wait for it. It would eat up valuable conversation time. 

"Hello, Michael," Ashton greeted, taking a seat in the chair across from his best friend. 

"Hey, Ash. You're early," Michael said, shutting his laptop lid.

"Eh, I felt bored and figured it couldn't hurt to be a little prompt," Ashton smiled. 

"So, what the fuck is going on with you and Luke? I didn't know that you talked to each other," Michael asked, taking a bite from the muffin sitting next to his computer. 

"I'm not really sure. He called this morning and left me a voicemail, saying that he wanted to talk to me about something. I told Calum, so he went to seek him out and apparently, he had threatened to ruin Calum's soccer career," Ashton relayed.

"Luke Hemmings wants to talk to you? But why?" Michael asked.

"I don't know, Michael. Calum came back with nothing but a threat. I don't want him to risk everything for me. I can assure you that I am not worth that," Ashton told him.

Michael quirked his eyebrow. "I think that Calum thinks differently about that."

"What do you mean? I know that I told them that he would have to earn my forgiveness, but he doesn't have to ruin his future. That wasn't what I meant by that. Just small gestures! The unspoken actions like waving hello or something like that!" Ashton expressed.

Michael just chuckled, confusing the blonde. "No, you oblivious idiot. I think that he thinks you're worth it. Like, you know."

"No, Michael, I don't know. I understand that we're becoming friends, but I wouldn't risk my future over something as petty as this!" Ashton continued.

"Oh, Lord. You really have no idea what I am referring to?" Michael asked, earning a quick shake of the head from Ashton. "I mean that he likes you! As in he wants to be more than just friendly roommates! He wants to fondle your balls!"

Ashton gave Michael a bewildered look, not believing what the guy just said to him. "Michael! I am not gay, Calum isn't gay! How dare you try and formulate some love story!"

Michael put up his hands in surrender, clearly hitting a sensitive topic. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was just pointing out an observation. No need for you to get pissed off. What are you going to do?"

 "I don't know. I feel like I'm responsible for getting Calum in trouble," Ashton said with a frown. 

"Well, the only suggestion I can think of is to talk to Luke and get him to leave Calum alone. It's not fair to Calum that he's getting punished just for looking out for you," Michael said. 

"If he just wants to torment me, he isn't going to just up and stop. He'll make it even worse for Calum," Ashton pointed out. "That's the confounding variable in this situation."

"I don't know what the hell a confounding variable even is, but maybe you should just become friends with him. Do what he and Calum did to you," Michael suggested. "Give him a taste of his own medicine, but do it for the greater good."

Ashton looked at Michael, pondering the thought. The thought had crossed his mind, but he didn't think into it because he thought that was a barbaric way to do things. But now that Michael was suggesting that it was for the greater good, it sounded more appealing. He thought it through a little more, figuring that he wouldn't be best friends with Luke. He would instead get on good terms to where there wasn't a hatred and there wasn't a friendship. That way nobody would get hurt or punished for anything. All Ashton wanted was to go through university without drama. 

"I think that's a good idea, Michael. I'll do that," Ashton agreed. "But how do you suggest I start?"

\----

Calum got up from his place on his bed, figuring that he might as well get himself ready to go to class. He thought that Ashton would've come back to the room, but it didn't appear that that would be the case. He was really concerned for Ashton. Without Calum, the boy was vulnerable to Luke's torture and that scared Calum. He didn't want anything to happen to Ashton because the boy was a fragile flower that was to be protected at all costs. 

Too tempted, the boy grabbed out his phone, deciding to call Ashton and make sure that he was okay. It sounded like Calum was being an overprotective dad, but he was only looking out for Ashton. Somehow, the wavy haired blonde worked his wormed his way into Calum's heart and made himself Calum's first priority. It was kind of annoying that he was so worried, but at the same time, it made Calum feel like he had some type of worth other than just being an amazing footie player. 

_"Hello there. You've reached the voicemail of Ashton Irwin. I'm unable to get to my phone, so if you could leave a detailed message, I will answer your call as soon as I get a chance. Have a lovely day,"_ the voicemail recited. 

Calum felt a little uneasy, but figured that he had his phone off so he could focus on Michael. "Hey, Ash. It's Cal. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. Tell Mike hi. I'm off to class now. Hope the essay goes well. See you later."

Calum replayed the voicemail, hearing the uncertainty and shakiness in his voice. He didn't know why he felt the slightest bit hurt over Ashton not picking up his call. It wasn't like the guy was deliberately ignoring him for no reason. He just felt a little hurt for whatever reason. 

When he got to class, he sat in his usual place in the back of the room, his thoughts slowly becoming consumed with Ashton. He didn't realize that his feelings towards Ashton were slowly growing stronger than what they originally were. Perhaps he would go one thinking that he was only drawn to Ashton because of their living arrangement. Or maybe he would actually realize that he did like Ashton as more than a friend and roommate. That he was trying to prove more than just his friendship to Ashton.

\----


	19. Chapter 19

Calum noticed that Ashton had been acting weird ever since he had come back from his study time with Michael. He didn't say anything about it, figuring that it was just Ashton being Ashton. There wasn't much different about him other than the fact that he acted like he had something else on his mind, but Calum assumed that he was just focused on his schoolwork. It made sense anyway and that's what he was going to keep telling himself. Ashton would tell him if Luke was bothering him, wouldn't he?

It had been a week since Calum's encounter with him. He didn't explain anything to Ashton about what had happened nor had he had any other encounters or conversations with Luke. It was weird because they were teammates, but it wasn't at the same time since they didn't really have time to converse during practices. 

Calum trusted that Ashton had taken his warning and was sure that the boy forgot that Luke had even tried to contact him. However, the threat of Luke's lurking made him even more nervous than it normally would. Luke was capable of doing ugly things and he wasn't going to exclude Ashton from that. 

The door opened to the dorm room and Ashton emerged inside, giving Calum a nervous smile when he noticed the boy sitting at his desk. "Oh, hi, Calum."

"Hey. You act surprised to see me," Calum chuckled. 

"Well, I normally don't see you here at this time. Don't you have practice today?" Ashton wondered, hanging his book bag on the hook.

"No, coach called practice off today. Bunch of the guys went out, but I thought that I could use a night in. Well, and Luke was going to be there, so there's that," Calum told the kid. He watched as Ashton got himself situated at his desk. The curiosity was taunting him too much. "Has he tried talking to you or has he done anything to you?"

Ashton looked at him, bewildered. "No, he hasn't said or done a thing to me. Why? I haven't reached out to him or given him any reason to." 

Calum was still weary about it, but he also felt a bit better getting the confirmation. "I just wondered. I was worried that he tried to hurt you to get at me."

A playful smirk played at the corners of Ashton's mouth. "You were worried about me? Never thought that Calum Hood would be worried about anybody."

The Kiwi felt himself blushing in embarrassment. "No, I wasn't worried about you. I just didn't want you to get hurt." 

"That sounds an awful lot like worrying to me, but I'm no expert," Ashton smirked. "I'm flattered, Calum. I'm glad that you're looking out for my well-being."

Ashton turned away from Calum, getting a start on his homework. Calum admired him, watching the pure and innocent boy in his natural habitat. Studying and doing homework never looked so peaceful and effortless when Calum looked at Ashton. The sight just made him want to do his own homework, despite knowing that he wouldn't look as calm and collective and soft as Ashton did. 

"Is there a reason that you are staring at me longingly?" Ashton asked, not even bothering to turn around. 

"What? No! I was zoning. Sorry," Calum stumbled. 

Ashton just chuckled and went back to what he was doing, leaving Calum alone to his own devices. Calum couldn't help but let out a sigh. What was he even becoming? He was now admiring his roommate and thinking that he was a precious pet that he felt the urge to put in his pocket. He never felt that way about any of his friends. God, no. They were the opposite of precious. Looking back at it, they were actually just plain old assholes that nobody liked. Hence why Calum hung out with them. Actually, he was just recently figuring that out. 

The other explanation would be that he wasn't straight, but he knew that that was completely out of the question. Just because of who he used to be, he couldn't be anything but a heterosexual male. That was for sure. He didn't have anything against the LGBTQ+ community as long as they didn't try and shove their lifestyles down his throat. He just knew that he wasn't a member nor was he a future member. Even a blind man could see that. 

Getting up from his place, Calum decided to go down to the mini mart and get something to eat. Not only was he hungry, but he needed to get his mind out of wherever it is that it was lingering. 

\----

He had to admit that he had never felt such a high level of guilt in his life. Ashton wasn't normally one to lie. At all. He had a very big conscience and that's what always made him tell the truth within minutes of telling the lie. That was why he never got to go to a party or do those adventurous things that the majority of his class did. They would lie and go out to have a good time, but when Ashton tried, he just couldn't. It wasn't that he was a bad liar; he just couldn't keep his cool and follow through with it. His mum commended him for it, but Ashton wasn't very proud of it. A small part of him was convinced that if he would've lied successfully, he would have had more friends and more memories from his pre-university years. 

But now it was different. He wasn't lying to his mum's sad face; he was lying to his roommate's puppy dog eyes. That was almost harder for him to do because he had just given Calum a huge speech about being honest and trustworthy. Now Ashton was just a hypocrite. But at the same time, Ashton knew that it was only protecting Calum from losing his potential soccer career.

Ashton was going through with the plan that he and Michael had come up with: becoming Luke's friend to keep Calum's future safe. He had to admit that he wasn't very good at making friends with people - especially people like Luke Hemmings. The jocks were people that he actively avoided. He had to keep his guard up. He knew that Luke's main plan was to ultimately hurt him. 

The blonde thought that it would be an extremely awkward and hostile meeting, but it really wasn't. He had met up with Luke right after class, figuring that he could just use the excuse that he had stayed after to talk to the professor if he were to have a question. The only thing that Ashton and Luke had done was set up a time for when they could 'sit and have a chat' longer than a passing period. Ashton wasn't going to lie - he was slightly scared of what was going to happen. The tone of voice that Luke had used was what had scared him the most. 

As Ashton reflected about his conversation with Luke and what their future meeting could be like, his phone began vibrating on the desk next to him, causing the poor boy to jump out of his skin. After the second of calming himself down, he looked to the caller I.D to see that it was Michael that was calling him. Looking around the room, he found that Calum was no longer in it with him, so he quickly hit the green icon. 

_"Did you meet with Luke yet?"_ Michael asked without greeting.

"A simple greeting would have been nice, but you know, chivalry and mannerisms seem to have died," Ashton scoffed.

_"Fine. Hello, Ashton,"_ Michael said. Ashton could actually hear his eyes rolling through the phone line.  _"So, did you meet with him yet?"_

"You are almost as annoying as Calum was when he found out that the guy called me," Ashton joked. "Yes, I did meet with him after class."

_"So, did you find out what he wanted? He didn't hurt you, did he?"_ Michael drilled.

"No and no. We set aside a time for when we can meet and talk longer. He also did not hurt me. If he would have, you would've been one of the first to know," Ashton reassured him. "Trust me, I have my guard up. I'm not going to let him hurt me or any of my friends."

_"Even Bryana and Anya?"_ Michael pestered. 

Ashton rolled his eyes, figuring that Michael was going to take the opportunity to pester him about his rocky relationship with his two other friends. "Michael, was that really necessary?"

_"It's actually a valid question. You haven't talked to them for a while and they're beginning to think that you don't want anything to do with them anymore,"_ Michael explained to him.  _"Please, just tell them if you do or not because they're becoming those extremely annoying girls that cry and complain to me about their problems and how they think that you hate them. It's particularly Bryana, but I'm sure Anya is getting to that point. You know I don't really talk to girls - especially popular girls - very often. I don't know how to understand their problems."_

"I know and I apologize, but I have a lot on my plate and it isn't a priority," Ashton told him. "If they bother you again, I give you permission to tell them exactly that. You can also tell them that I don't hate them and that I'm not angry at them or anything like that. I just haven't found the opportunity to talk to them and get everything sorted out."

_"Alright. I'll tell them. If you don't hear from me, they clawed my eyeballs out with those talons on the end of their fingers,"_ Michael told him, sounding both sarcastic and serious.

"Thank you, Michael. I'm going to finish my work and get ready to meet Luke," Ashton told him. 

_"Let me know how it goes. Also, be careful not to hurt yourself,"_ Michael reminded.

Ashton bid him goodbye and went back to his homework. A pang of guilt shot through him as he thought about his two female friends. He missed talking to them, but he also didn't want to just be quick to forgive. He wanted to make sure that they understood why Ashton was pissed off about what had happened. It was going to take time to do that and that was the one thing that he didn't have, not with this whole Luke business going on. That was exhausting work. 

He looked down at the clock in the corner of his computer screen. There was only half an hour until he had to meet the blonde and discuss whatever it was that he had wanted. Fear and bravery were understatements as to what Ashton was feeling. 

\----


	20. Chapter 20

Ashton walked up the steps to the frat house, getting the feeling that meeting him was the dumbest idea that he had ever had. It was just a house, but the excessive amount of empty Solo cups, beer cans, and bras hanging in the trees was enough for Ashton to feel uncomfortable. He was just waiting until he stepped on the stomach of a fainted and hungover individual. When he got to the giant front door, Ashton hesitantly knocked. He was hoping that nobody would answer the door and he could just turn and go back to campus, but to his dismay, some guy that looked as though he had just rolled out of bed answered the door.

"If you're looking for your girlfriend, I didn't sleep with her," the guy slurred, still sounding drunk from the previous night.

"Uh, no, I'm actually not looking for any girls," Ashton stammered.

"Then who the hell are you and why are you here?" he continued.

"I am looking for Luke Hemmings. He told me to meet him here," Ashton stated.

"I didn't know he was having his fuck buddies come to the door now," the man chuckled.

"Um, we're not -"

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," he smirked. "I'm J.J. Follow me and I'll get Luke."

Ashton nodded, deciding not to fight with the hungover collegiate. Instead he just followed him into the messy house uncomfortably. J.J gestured for Ashton to wait in what appeared to be the living room. With a grimace, Ashton hesitantly took his spot on the edge of the couch that sported thousands of stains from God knows what and a million little crumbs. The frat boy disappeared up the stairs and Ashton looked around, waiting for some drunkard to come stumbling in.

"Well, well, it's good to know that J.J. is somewhat sobered up," said a deep voice from behind him.

Ashton turned to see Luke walking down the stairs, looking fresh and as though he hadn't gotten drunk last night. That would certainly be surprising. The man was a good actor if he were hungover because he was so swift and alert with his movements.

"Hello, Luke," Ashton mused, attempting to be as calm as he could muster.

"Ashton. How about we discuss this in a more private area? You know, away from any lingering drunk frat boys," Luke suggested, his tone almost conniving.

Ashton gulped and just nodded, not sure of what to expect. He rose from the disgusting couch and followed Luke back up the grand staircase. It made him slightly nervous to know that he was most likely going up to Luke's room on the second floor where there wasn't a place to escape unless he jumped to his ultimate death from the window.

When they got to the room at the end of the hallway, Luke opened up the door to let Ashton in first. It was darker than Ashton would've preferred, but it fit Luke and his personality. Ashton was looking around the boy's room, numerous band posters and sports posters littering the walls along with a few random Sports Illustrated Swimsuit posters. As Ashton was judging the room, the door shut, causing him to shudder a little bit.

Ashton spun around, trying to keep his calm and collective persona about him. Luke slowly walked further into the rather large bedroom, nodding at the perfectly made bed next to the covered window. "Have a seat. We're going to be here for a little while."

Reluctantly, Ashton sat down on the bed, already wishing that he could go home. He didn't know what it was that Luke wanted with him, but he was starting to get the vibe that it wasn't good. The reality hit him that something dangerous might happen and the one person that he would want to have help him didn't have any idea where he was. Sure, Michael did, but Calum knew how to deal with Luke and his frat brothers. Calum was the one that would be able to save Ashton if he ever needed him.

"So, do you have any idea why I chose to talk to you?" Luke asked, turning on his desk lamp.

"I've been contemplating it and the only thing that I can come up with is what had happened on the night of the party that Calum had brought me to," Ashton put out there, watching as Luke's jaw clenched. He knew that he had to save himself if he was going to follow through with the plan to make friends with Luke. "I'm not angry with you about it, Luke. It's over and done with."

"That's good to know, Ashton. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you," Luke stated, a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about your darling roommate since you seem to be his only friend lately."

Ashton could feel his eyes widen to the size of dimes. "Calum? I may be his roommate, but I don't know that much about him."

"You don't have to know his backstory, Ashton," Luke chuckled as though Ashton told the funniest joke of the century. "You just need to tell me a few details that aren't too personal. Think you can do that for me?"

That was the last thing that Ashton wanted to do, but he knew that he was going to have to in order for his plan to work out in the end. "O-Okay..."

A satisfied smirk settled on Luke's face. "Good, good."

"Why do you need details on him?" Ashton wondered.

"I figured you would ask," Luke smiled, a tint of innocence on his demeanor. "Mel U footie team has a tradition of the team being like a family. While that sounds cliche, the alum before us that created the tradition mean it literally be a band of brothers and act like a band of brothers - not the fake shit that other teams have. So, as his captain, one of my many responsibilities is to get to know my players as best as I can without being direct about it and giving off the 'I have to do this' vibe because that isn't at all what I want to do. It started out strong with Calum, but then everything went downhill and now he refuses to speak to me. That's where you come in, Ashton. I need you to help me to get to know him so I can try to win him back as a brother and a good friend in a more meaningful way than I have been."

Ashton let what Luke told him sink in. It sounded like a legitimate reason for Luke wanting to meet with him. There was a whole aura about sports teams being like family, which Ashton didn't begin to understand. But he wasn't about to think twice about it because he didn't have any right to question the traditions and celebrations of the team when he didn't know the first thing about it.

"What do you need to know?" Ashton wondered, making the decision that doing this would help him get on Luke's good side. His and Michael's plan was in action.

\----

When Calum had gotten back to the room, it was empty. He didn't recall Ashton saying that he was going to be leaving. A small part - okay, a large part - of him began to worry and overthink. He felt like he was...an overprotective boyfriend. The thought of that term made him shudder. The fact that he felt like that particular thing made him cringe. Ashton had a special place in his heart, but he didn't think that it was that kind of special place. He never felt anything other than straight. When he had kissed girls or had sex with girls, he was completely satisfied. However, when he had kissed Ashton, it felt absolutely amazing. He wasn't disgusted by it at all. The fact that he was Ashton's first kiss made him happy, even if Ashton didn't particularly want his first kiss to be that way or with Calum.

When he set his things down, he grabbed his phone and felt tempted to text or call Ashton. He didn't want to bother him in case he was studying at the library or he was with his other friends, but he did just want to make sure that he was okay and he wasn't in danger. He supposed that he was so worried because Luke had reached out to him.

_Ashton is fine. He's not with Luke,_ Calum repeated in his head. He was going to have to make that his mantra if he wanted to keep his ass calm. Calum hadn't had a panic attack since his younger days. Why he felt like he was about to have one now was beyond him. There was nothing he needed to worry about. Ashton was a grown man and he knew that he could take care of himself. If he needed Calum, he would call. Calum knew that. He told him that numerous times, so there was no way that he could forget it.

With a huff, Calum took a seat at his desk, figuring that he might as well get a head start on the homework that he didn't want to do. Hopefully, it would keep his mind off his worrying. Hell, Ashton would most likely be back by the time he thought about him again.

However, after about ten minutes, Calum threw down his pencil and got up from his desk to make his way over to where his phone was plugged in on the futon. The anxiety was overtaking him and he just had to make sure that Ashton was okay and Luke wasn't hurting him or talking to him or even breathing in the same room as him.

_"Hello there. You've reached me, Ashton Irwin, when I'm not available. Leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm available,"_ Ashton's voicemail said into Calum's ear.

"Hey, Ash. It's just me checking in on you. Came back and you weren't here, so I was just calling to make sure that someone didn't kidnap you or anything. So, yeah. You don't have to call back, just send me a text or some shit. Bye."

Calum hung up, not feeling at all better. He knew that he was panicking for no reason. There was no reason for him to be so scared. Ashton was with Michael or the girls or he was just studying and doing his homework by himself. He could take care of himself. He knew where Calum was if he needed help.

Going to his drawer, he grabbed out the bottle of anxiety medication that had never been open. For some reason, his mother insisted on him getting it refilled every so often even though he didn't have anxiety attacks anymore. Well, at least, up until now. He was actually kind of thankful that he had it because he was beside himself and Calum did not like that feeling one bit.

He popped a pill in his mouth and chased it down with a few sips of his water. He closed his eyes and told himself that everything would be okay. Figuring that he wasn't going to be able to do his homework, he crawled onto the futon and turned on the TV. It had been a while since he had indulged in relaxation and an actual funny movie. He deserved to laugh.

\----

Ashton still wasn't back at the room when the comedian that Calum had been watching finished. The special was two hours long as well. He didn't have a text waiting on his phone nor did he have a call. The anxiety medication that he had somewhat kicked in, but he was still worried about his roommate. He exited Netflix and turned the TV off, deciding that he was going to go try and find Ashton to see for himself that he was okay.

But just as he was exiting the room, he was faced with Michael, who's arm was poised, ready to knock.

"Talk about perfect timing, eh?" Michael joked, dropping his arm.

"What are you doing here?" Calum asked, confused.

"I came to see Ash. Is he in there?" Michael asked, taken aback by Calum's blunt question.

"I thought you were hanging out with Ashton today," Calum stated, growing confused and more concerned all at once.

"No...is that what he told you?" Michael asked.

"No, I just assumed that's where he was. He's been gone an awfully long time. Did he tell you where he was going?" the Kiwi wondered, just wanting an answer.

The look on Michael's face changed, but Calum couldn't quite make out what it was. "No, he didn't tell me. Have you asked Bryana and Anya? He might've decided to finally talk to them."

Calum just shook his head. "No, he would've told me that's where he was. He would've also answered my call too."

Michael's eyes widened. "Wait, he didn't answer your call? How many times did you try?"

"Just once, but I told him to text me just so I knew that he was okay," Calum shrugged.

"That's odd. Ashton never lets a call go to voicemail. It's something he's so OCD about," Michael pointed out. "We could go out and try to find him where we think that he might be."

"That's what I was about to do," Calum nodded.

The two boys took off down the hallway towards the stairs to begin their search quicker than they would be if they were to take the elevator. Calum didn't know where else to look other than the library. It wasn't as though the guy went any other place on campus – or off campus for that matter.

"I know that he was writing a paper today. We could check the printing area," Michael suggested, beginning to walk towards the hallway that led to the different utility rooms.

That was when Ashton walked in the back entrance to the building with a wide smile on his face as he bid goodbye to someone outside. Calum and Michael stopped, both of their eyes on the boy as they waited for him to notice. It didn't take all that long for him to see them standing there and when he did, Ashton jumped back, shocked to see his friend and his roommate standing there, looking at him.

"You both look like a mum that lost her child in the supermarket. Is everything alright?" Ashton asked as he approached the two.

"Who was that?" Calum asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Who was who? The person that I bid goodbye to just now? Nobody that you would know," Ashton answered. However, Calum wasn't buying it.

"Calum, don't grill him. We were just going out to look for you," Michael told him. "You wouldn't answer our calls and you were gone for a while."

"Oh. I apologize. I had phone on airplane mode because I didn't want any distractions. I was helping a friend from one of my classes. He was having trouble understanding the material," Ashton relayed, a slight hesitation in his voice – or so Calum thought.

"What was his name? Was it Luke?" Calum asked, feeling himself get defensive.

The expression on Calum's face turned scared. "No. Why are you so defensive towards me, Calum? I'm sorry that I didn't let you know where I was going. It was a last minute thing and I didn't think to send you a text or leave a note."

"Don't you dare lie to me, Ashton," Calum snapped.

"Calum, calm down. He's not lying to you," Michael told Calum.

Michael and Ashton ended up going out to get pizza and Calum went back to the room. He found himself wanting to know who the boy was that Ashton was with. He wanted to warn the guy not to hurt a hair on Ashton's head. As Calum sat on the futon, he realized that he was feeling jealousy towards whoever it was that Ashton was hanging out with. He wanted to hang out with Ashton. Ashton was his roommate. His best friend.

_Ashton was his._

_\----_


	21. Chapter 21

Ashton walked into the dorm room, not sure of what to expect from his roommate. He was kind of scared of what was going to happen. He was actually scared of Calum when he started yelling at him. Granted, Ashton had lied to him, but Calum didn't know that. Well, he didn't think that he did anyway. The way that he was grilling him about who he was with and automatically assuming that he was out with Luke unnerved Ashton. The last thing that Ashton wanted to do was betray Calum's trust after developing their friendship, but he had to do that in order to keep himself and Calum safe from Luke's evil. 

"Hello, Calum," Ashton greeted, trying to keep the hesitation out of his voice. 

The only response that Ashton received was a grunt that he presumed was a mumbled hello. Awkwardly, Ashton stripped his book bag from his back and took off his shoes. He sat down awkwardly on his bed, deciding that it would be best to talk to Calum and clear the air. 

"Is everything okay, Cal?" Ashton asked. "Is there a reason that you got so defensive with me?" 

Calum was quiet, not even acknowledging Ashton's presence. Ashton didn't know how to take that as he was never good with confrontation. However, he just wanted to get whatever it was out on the table so they didn't have to go however long ignoring each other.

"Calum, can you please talk to me?" Ashton requested, turning his voice a little more stern.

"What do you want, Ashton?" Calum asked, turning to face Ashton finally. He had a pissed off expression on his face, but the underlying expression in his eyes was what Ashton read as embarrassment. 

"I asked you a question. I don't want you to be angry with me," Ashton told him calmly, not wanting to take the defensive route as nothing would get resolved.

"I'm not mad at you, Ashton," he shrugged, but the tone in his voice said otherwise.

"I'm finding that hard to believe. You were yelling at me downstairs about who I was with," Ashton pointed out, both frustrated and slightly scared for what could have happened next. 

"I wasn't fucking yelling at you! I was asking where the hell you were!" Calum said, his voice rising with defensiveness laced into his tone. 

"You were, Calum. I wasn't with Luke. You know that I wouldn't go behind your back and do that," Ashton lied, feeling bad but at the same time knowing that he couldn't tell him the truth. "Why didn't you trust me, Calum? And why were you so worried? I know that I should have texted or left a note, but I simply forgot. You can't be so mad at me over a mistake, Calum."

Calum was quiet, his jaw clenched. Ashton knew that he was making him angry by calling him out. He was somewhat scared, but he knew now that Calum wouldn't physically hurt him. Verbally? Maybe. But that was only because Ashton was pushing on his ego for accusing him of caring about him basically. 

"I wasn't mad about a mistake," Calum said sharply. 

"Calum, I'm not mad that you yelled at me or anything. I'm not mad at you at all. I just want to know what's going on that made you yell at me," Ashton said softly, hoping that Calum would actually give him an answer. "Were you worried about me? Because if that is the case, I'm flattered and that makes me happy to know that you care about me to that extent."

"I wasn't worried about you. It was just pretty shitty that you didn't bother telling me. You could've died and I wouldn't have known where the fuck you were!" Calum yelled. 

"Calum, I don't know how many times you want me to apologize, but I really am sorry for not answering your calls and texts or leaving you a note. I agree that it was a shitty thing of me to do, but I promise that I won't do it again. I know that you may be worried about me because Luke's trying to target me, but I'm not going to meet with him without you knowing. You told me not to and I know that you know him better than I do, so I'm going to take your word for it," Ashton explained, figuring that he would try to clear the air as best he could. "I wanted to talk to you about this because I don't want you to be angry with me or anything of the sort." 

Calum didn't say anything and got up from his desk chair, walking towards the door. He stopped before he left, turning to Ashton. "I'm going to be going on a walk. If you need me, fucking call. It's that easy."

Calum let the door slam behind him, leaving a confused and guilty Ashton behind. He didn't know what to do. Ashton was just trying to smooth the waters, but it seemed that they were going to stay rough until Calum felt otherwise. It was just part of his stubborn nature. 

Ashton went over to his desk, not sure what to do. He had already finished his assigned homework. Maybe he should go talk to Bryana and Anya since he was in the mood to smooth things over. It wasn't like he had necessarily been the greatest person to them, so he might as well mend the fences. It wasn't as though they deserved the punishment that Ashton had given to them, even though some of it was by choice. He hoped that they understood why he had gotten angry with them and he had faith that they did. He felt like he could trust that they had thought over why he reacted the way he did and that they knew where they had went wrong. They were two of the greatest friends that Ashton could've ever asked for and he wasn't about to let them go. 

\----

Calum was walking around campus, not sure of where to go. He didn't mind that though because it felt good to just be out in the open fresh air instead of being trapped in his dorm room. He needed to think and he couldn't do that while confined. As much as he was trying to put it off, he knew that he couldn't do that because he needed to sort out his feelings and his confusion. 

When Ashton asked him what he was being so defensive for, he didn't know how the hell to answer. It wasn't like he could just say 'oh, I think that I like you in a certain way that I didn't know that I felt' or 'I was jealous of whoever was hanging out with you because I think I really like you.' If he said that, Ashton would probably never talk to him again because Calum was pretty sure that the guy was either straight or asexual. Not only that, but then he would assume that Calum was gay and he definitely wasn't. He wasn't fully straight, but he knew that he still liked himself some fine looking women as well as Ashton. 

He felt his phone begin vibrating, taking it out to see that it was Luke calling him. With a grimace, Calum hit answer, figuring that he could take his anger out on him instead of keeping his screams and anger bottled up. 

"What the hell do you want, Luke?" Calum sighed, getting the message across that he didn't want to talk to him. 

_"I just wanted to talk to you, Cal. Can't a brother do that?"_ Luke said smoothly. 

"We aren't brothers in any way, shape, or form," Calum answered. 

_"I suppose you're right. We're friends though. You seem to really like your friends and that's why I wanted to talk to you. I'm concerned,"_ Luke continued, confusing Calum. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Calum asked. 

_"Well, you like to kiss certain friends - specifically male."_

Calum felt his heart drop. Had Luke seen him kiss Ashton? "Excuse me?"

_"Don't play dumb, Calum. I would like for you to come over to the frat house so we could talk about this in person,"_ Luke said, actually sounding concerned. 

"I don't know what the fuck it is you're trying to do, but I am not meeting you," Calum snapped. 

_"Cal, I'm not mad at you. I just don't want to do this over the phone. Would it make you feel better if we just talked at practice?"_ Luke offered. 

Calum was furious, not wanting to even look at Luke, let alone listen to him. He took the phone away from his ear and ended the call. He wished that flip phones were still in existence because he wanted to do the dramatic phone closing on him. He turned around, deciding that it was time that he go back to his dorm room. It seemed that it didn't matter whether he was confined or out in the open because he wasn't going to figure anything out at this rate. 

\----

Calum had put all of his effort and energy into practice that day. It was amazing because he was beyond pro-worthy when he was pissed off. It sounded conceited, but he only thought that way because the coach had been obsessively awing over him and his performance, saying that any footie team would want to have him. It was flattering and boosted his confidence for sure, but it was harder to change his mood in light of the recent events. 

None of his teammates were speaking to him. Mainly because of the lies that Luke had told them and also the events that had happened at the party. Now, a lot of it was probably because Luke had told them about what happened with Ashton and they quickly turned homophobic despite the fact that there wasn't any proof. 

"I didn't mean to make you angry." 

Calum turned to where the voice was coming from, standing shirtless in only his practice shorts. Luke was striding towards him with a sense of arrogance in his walk. "The fact that you're in existence makes me angry, so."

"That's not very nice, Calum," Luke said with what Calum considered to be a fake frown on his face. "I just wanted to have a chat with you."

"About what? I don't want to talk to you, Luke! I have nothing to say to you!" Calum yelled, causing heads to turn. 

"I just wanted to tell you that it's okay to kiss boys, Calum," Luke said, a smirk forming on his lips as a shroud of chuckles echoed through the locker room. "You may kiss your other mates, but please try to refrain from kissing me."

Calum felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment that the whole locker room was laughing at him. His secret that wasn't really a secret but is still a secret was out. He didn't know what to do or what to say. So, he turned back to his locker and grabbed what he needed before beelining out of the place, not even caring that he wasn't wearing his shirt. 

Questions were flooding Calum's thoughts - ones that he should've thought of as soon as Luke had called him. How the hell did Luke even know that he had even kissed Ashton?

\----


	22. Chapter 22

Calum was shrunk against the cold wall of the bathroom as he felt tears dripping out of his eyes. He couldn't believe what had just happened and was so curious as to why it had have even happened. While he was crying about the event that he had unfortunately been apart of, he was also sobbing because he felt exposed and vulnerable. Not because of Luke outing his secret, but because the odd feelings that he had been feeling towards Ashton were finally coming to the surface. He was finally really realizing that he actually had feelings towards his roommate.

That made Calum cry more. It wasn't because he had feelings for Ashton; it was more because he knew that he had just been wrongly outed, despite not even really understanding what his orientation was. Along with that, he knew that Ashton wouldn't feel the same way about him. There was no way. The kid flew off the handle after the kiss, giving Calum the message that he didn't feel anything or want anything more than roommate-ship and friendship with him, unfortunately for Calum. It was weird because Calum wasn't used to being rejected. The girls that he had always tried and flirted with never turned him down. It was like he had a knack for getting girls to fall for him. Hell, there was even some guy from his high school that had a crush on him. But now that Ashton was most likely going to turn him down, he didn't know how to handle it.

Wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands, Calum got up from the bathroom floor. He knew that he needed to talk to someone because bottling it up was certainly not going to be an option this time. When he started walking out into the crowd of people, he didn't know exactly where he was going. But then an idea struck him and he knew exactly where he was going.

When he got to the correct door ten minutes later, he hoped to God that someone would be home. If there wasn't, he didn't know what he would do. He just wanted to let out his feelings through words, but he wanted someone to listen to him rather than just spewing it to himself. The door then opened revealing the blonde that he wanted to see, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"Calum? What are you doing here?" Bryana greeted, looking at him confused. "Ashton just left a couple of minutes ago. I think he was either heading to Michael's or back to yours."

"Can I talk to you?" Calum asked, not even acknowledging what she had said about his roommate.

"Um, sure. Is everything okay?" she wondered, letting him into the girly dorm room.

"Yes. Well, not really. Did you tell Luke Hemmings about Ashton and I kissing?" Calum asked bluntly, earning a bewildered look from the blonde girl.

"No!" she responded quickly. "I have no interest in talking to him. He's a douche bag. And I certainly wouldn't say something like that to him. I know that he would do something evil with that information. Wait - what did he do?"

Calum looked down at his hands. "He wanted to meet up with me for some dumb reason, but I refused because we're not friends anymore. So, after practice when everyone was showering and shit, he told the whole locker room that I kissed Ashton with some snarky comment. Now, the whole team thinks that I'm gay and I'm pretty sure that going to practice won't be fun anymore."

Bryana looked at Calum with a sympathetic expression. "Calum, I understand that I am in no place to say this, but are you sure you're straight? I mean, if you aren't, that means that-"

"I'm not gay, Bryana," Calum said harshly, cutting her off.

"You don't have to be gay. There's plenty other orientations that you could be. I was just wondering if you were sure that y-"

"I don't like boys," Calum snapped.

Bryana huffed, looking around the dorm room as she tried to think of what to say. Calum felt bad for getting defensive towards her since she was only trying to help. But he knew that he wasn't gay. He had never been turned on by any other boys other than Ashton. Was there a sexuality for that? Because Calum would definitely identify with it to make his life easier.

"Can I ask what brought the kiss on in the first place?" she asked with a quiet voice, almost whispering.

Calum wasn't exactly sure how to answer. "I don't really know. It was kind of just an impulse thing."

Bryana nodded in understanding. "I'm not saying that you're gay, but do you have feelings for Ashton?"

He didn't say anything, not sure how to answer that. Granted, the reason that he had decided to go to her was so he could talk about it. But he couldn't find the words or force himself to say anything. He didn't think that it would be that hard. It was just telling the truth and he was pretty sure, at least from what he's seen, Bryana wouldn't judge him for feeling something for Ashton. Even if he had tried hitting on her that time.

"Cal?"

Calum shook his head out of his trance and looked at Bryana. "Oh, um, I don't know."

"Okay. Hear me out when I say this, okay? When I'm done, you can tell me how wrong I am and you can even threaten to hang me if you want," Bryana started. Calum just nodded, somewhat nervous about what was going to come out of her mouth. "You and Ashton have had an interesting relationship. You both claim to be straight. However, you guys were yelling at each other and you decided to kiss him in order to shut him up. You claim that it's an impulse thing, but there are other ways that you could have done it, especially since you claim to be completely straight. It didn't take long until you two were back on speaking terms and had your friendship back together again. But when it came to Anya and I, Ashton didn't talk to us for a long damn time - until today, actually. Now, if I were Ashton and claimed to be straight, I would have avoided you before I would've avoided Anya and myself. And you, if I were you, I would've requested to move rooms or bunk with someone else until it were far along enough in the future in order to move back in and act like nothing ever happened. But that didn't happen, so what that tells me is that both of you have some type of feelings other than friendship for each other."

Calum was silent. "You don't know that."

"You're right; I don't. But what I've observed is that Ashton really does care about you. When he came to talk to me today, he was really worried about you because you two got into some sort of argument and you took off. Judging by what Ashton told me about said argument was that you were acting really protective of him. He wasn't mad about it; he was actually kind of flattered to know that you cared so much for him," Bryana continued. "So, that helps support my theory that you have some type of feelings for him. But if you are straight, then I'm in no place to say otherwise."

Calum stayed quiet, not sure how to confirm her theories. He also was busy trying not to get his hopes too high about Ashton. "I guess."

"You guess what?" she asked.

Calum brought his brown eyes to hers, his voice cracking as he spoke. "You're right."

A smile spread across Bryana's face. "So, you do have feelings for Ashton?"

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't have told you that you were right if I didn't," Calum confirmed. "But I'm not gay because I still like me some hot ladies."

The blonde girl just rolled her eyes before hugging Calum. It caught him off guard as he had never gotten a hug from her before. He hadn't gotten a hug since his parents dropped him off now that he thought about it. "When are you going to tell him?"

Calum looked at her with a shocked expression. "Wait, what? Tell him what?"

"That you have feelings for him!" Bryana said excitedly.

Calum quickly shook his head. "No, no, no. Not going to happen, blondie. I'm not ready for that."

"Oh, why not? I know that you've never had feelings for another guy before, but trust me, it's just like dealing with a girl, but he has a dick. And Ashton's a sweetie anyway," Bryana told him and then her eyes got wide. "Wait, are you scared?!"

"No! I'm not scared. I just don't want to tell him," Calum shrugged, hoping that it would come off as casual, but to his dismay, it did not.

"You're scared! Oh my God, that's so cute. Mr. Macho Calum is scared!" she cooed. "Don't worry, Calum. There's no need to be scared of Ashton rejecting you because I'm 100% sure that he reciprocates your feelings. I know he does. I'll help you set up the perfect date for you to tell him, if you want. That way it will assure you that he won't reject you."

Calum didn't know if he wanted to tell Ashton yet. He wasn't even sure of his own sexuality yet, let alone know how to ask a guy on a date that he didn't even know or consider as a date. But he knew that if he didn't do it soon, he was going to lose out. Whether that be someone else finding Ashton or just losing whatever courage that he had in him in order to do it. Plus, Bryana would get off his back about it.

"Fine. I'll let you help me, but it's not going to happen until, like, two days from now," Calum negotiated.

"That's perfect! That gives us time to plan!"

Calum rolled his eyes, the only thought in his mind:  _What did I just sign myself up for?_

\----

Ashton situated himself into a comfortable position on his bed, the TV flipped onto a Netflix series. He had finished all of his homework and decided that he deserved some time to himself. Since Calum was M.I.A, he figured that it was the best time to relax, especially since it was going to be right before bed. The only thing that was keeping him from fully relaxing, however, was the fact that Calum had been gone for hours and hadn't answered any of his messages. He figured that the lack of response was payback for when Ashton didn't respond to him, but he was still worried.

There wasn't much that Ashton could even do about it other than contact their three mutual friends in hopes that he would be with one of them (in which he wasn't). The only place could that Ashton could think that he would be would be with the team, but knowing Calum and his sour relationship with Luke, he knew that there was a small chance that he would be with them. He was hoping that getting engrossed to a show would help to take his mind off it. Hell, maybe he would get so involved into it, enough time would pass and Calum would saunter into the room.

There was a lot of thoughts that were going through Ashton's head about the recent events, especially the ones involving Calum. He was flattered that Calum had been so protective of him, but it also kind of scared him. It had never happened before, so it confused him. It was like Calum was trying to be that overprotective boyfriend. It was nice to know that Calum cared about him that much, but the only thing that unnerved Ashton was the idea of Calum actually feeling something other than friendship for him. Ashton wasn't straight, but he wasn't gay either. He considered himself to be asexual. Not only that, but he knew that it wasn't likely that he would feel anything back for Calum. He was hoping that that wasn't the case because he didn't want to lose their newfound friendship nor did he want to break the guy's heart. That wasn't who he was and it was definitely not going to be who he would become.

After three hour long episodes, the door opened and Calum walked in. At first he was quiet, but then he realized that Ashton was awake and quit sneaking around. Unfortunately, the awkward tension entered with him, leaving Ashton wondering if he should initiate small talk. Casually, Ashton checked the time, seeing that it was nearly midnight.

"How was your night?" Ashton finally asked, hoping that the awkwardness would go away.

"Fine," Calum said as he grabbed a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants from his closet.

"What did you do? Must've been a good time since you were gone for the night," Ashton wondered.

"Just hung out with a few friends. Nothing exciting," Calum shrugged, taking off his shirt.

Ashton was silent, glancing over at Calum's toned back. The boy's muscles were visible and Ashton didn't know that they were that large since they were covered up by sleeves a lot of the time. He tried to look away, but he couldn't bring his eyes away from the sight.

"Did you need something?" Calum asked, turning around, noticing Ashton staring at him.

"Oh, uh, no," Ashton stammered, not sure how to answer. "I wasn't staring at you."

Calum scoffed. "Whatever."

Ashton hoped that if his fears were true that he hadn't just given him the wrong idea. He knew that the road to trying not to be a heartbreaker would definitely be a long one. Calum crawled into his own bed, turning so his back was towards Ashton. With a sigh, Ashton unplugged his string of lights and turned the TV off. Maybe sleep would help to solve everything.

\---- 


	23. Chapter 23

Ashton walked into his dorm room with his small box of chicken and bacon pizza. He was pleasantly surprised to see Calum sitting at his desk, his headphones covering his ears. Ashton figured that he had the volume up since he didn't notice that Ashton had come in. Considering the previous night's awkward conversation, he wasn't going to make his presence known because he knew that Calum didn't care. It was unfortunate because Ashton cared about him, whether he was angry with him or not.

He sat down at his desk and opened the box of perfectly made pizza, the smell wafting up into his nostrils as a satisfied smile spread across his lips. He absolutely loved the pizza from the campus pizza parlor. He hadn't had pizza that good since he was a little kid. If he gained an unreal amount of weight, that place was definitely going to be the cause of it.

"I didn't know that you were ordering dinner."

Ashton nearly jumped at the voice, but quickly gathered himself as he spun his chair around. "Oh, I'm sorry, Calum. I only ordered a personal size. I didn't know if you wanted one or if you had already eaten."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Calum shrugged.

Ashton felt a bit better as the awkward tension began to lift from the room. He was hoping that they could finally go back to the way that they used to be - good friends and roommates. Ashton was never someone that liked confrontation and he never would be. He didn't have a lot of friends just so he could avoid it.

"How was your day today?" Ashton wondered, figuring that he might as well carry on the conversation while the mood was good.

"Same old shit, different day," Calum shrugged. "What about yours?"

"I'd have to say the same." Ashton agreed with a chuckle.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" Calum asked, taking Ashton off guard.

Ashton nearly choked on his bite of pizza, but tried to pass it off as a big swallow. "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondered if you wanted to hang out. I don't have practice and I don't have any homework to do. I guess it could be considered a roommate bonding experience. A lot of people do them actually," Calum offered.

Ashton nodded hesitantly. "That sounds like a good idea. I'm assuming after classes are done. When are you finished?"

"Yes," Calum nodded. "I'm done after 5:30 tomorrow because of a tutoring session. So, I think after you."

Ashton smiled, giving a nod of his head as a confirming consent. He had to admit that he was glad that they were going to take some time to get over their little spat. He was looking forward to hanging out with his roommate again and going back to normal. At least, he was happy about it until his phone began to vibrate, the name Luke lighting up. Awkwardly, Ashton picked up the mobile device and walked out of the room, not wanting Calum to listen in on the conversation as it  _was_ about the tan-skinned boy.

"Hello?" Ashton answered, pretending that he wasn't dreading the conversation that he was about to have with him.

_"Ashton,"_ Luke's smooth voice greeted, sounding like an emotionless business man.  _"Just wanted to tell you thanks for helping me out this week."_

Ashton gulped, not sure of what to respond. "You're welcome. May I ask what you've done with the information?"

Luke chuckled on the other end of the line, sounding maniacal.  _"Don't you remember? I told you that you aren't allowed to ask questions. You're just the messenger and you don't get to be let in on the details."_

Ashton didn't answer, worrying about what Luke may have done to Calum. He also didn't like how Luke seemed to think that he had power over Ashton. "I do apologize, Luke. I forgot for a minute. My curiosity got the best of me."

_"Don't let it happen again,"_  Luke prompted. Ashton was going to let out a chuckle, thinking that he was kidding, but it turned out that Luke was being completely serious.  _"Meet me after practice on Friday."_

Ashton was about to answer, but Luke had ended the call before he could. Ashton didn't like how Luke was bossing him around, but he also knew that he was keeping himself and Calum safe by doing what he was doing, despite not knowing what Luke was using the information for, although he had an idea that he wasn't using or keeping the information to himself.

Ashton hung his head back and let out a huff of air. When he came to Melbourne, he was expecting to have a successful and purely academic school year - not one where he had a group of friends, where he was fending off soccer players, or where he had a weird relationship with his roommate. He felt that he was ultimately putting his schoolwork on the backburner and putting his social life first - definitely something he's never done before. His work wasn't necessarily suffering, but he knew that he could spend more time on it to make it better than it was. If his mother knew, she would be so disappointed in him. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint AnneMarie Irwin. It was something that he actively tried to avoid. He just wanted the waters to settle so he could go back to focusing the majority of his attention on his homework and maintaining his 4.0 GPA. He wanted to make it so Calum was on good terms with him and Luke wasn't threatening Calum's soccer career or Ashton.. He just wanted everything to be back to normal. Who knows, maybe this roommate bonding time will be the start of it.

\----

Calum was nervous as he walked back to the dorm room after his final class of the day. He was going to be hanging out with Ashton on their "roommate bonding experience." However, that wasn't the reason that Calum had asked Ashton to hangout with him. Thanks to the push from Bryana, he was going to tell Ashton how he felt about him. Unlike times before, Calum was completely terrified. He never really went about telling someone that he was interested in them this way. In fact, he never really had a crush on anyone like he had for Ashton. He tried telling Bryana that, but she just said that his nerves and all signified that he cared about Ashton and their relationship. It sounded like some cheesy bullshit that she had pulled off Pinterest or something, but that's the only explanation that he had for what was happening inside of his head. Either way, it was going to happen that night because Bryana and Anya had been setting up the venue for the past few hours.

Ashton was supposed to be back from his classes before Calum was, so it didn't give him much time to sit by himself and think about what he was going to do or practice what he was going to say. He kept repeating to himself that it wasn't a date because, well, it technically wasn't. Another thing that was floating through Calum's mind was the potential rejection. That would certainly make it awkward in their room for the rest of the year. It wasn't the brightest idea to ask a roommate out when it wasn't towards the end of the year or when either roommate is able to move out, but Calum came to conclusions that he just wasn't the brightest person.

Calum pushed the door to their room open, a mop of hair peeking over the foot of Ashton's bed. As Calum walked in further, he saw Ashton was doing his work. The boy was always so focused on whatever he was doing. Calum was almost envious because he had always had troubles with focusing on things, especially homework, because of his ADD. He walked further into the room, throwing his backpack on his bed and looked over at his roommate, who was snuggled into a black oversized sweater as he hunched over the desk. The sight was enough to make Calum want to go over and hug him for the rest of time, but he refrained because he was too weirded out by his romantic thoughts to actually act on them. At least, when their relationship status was still friends.

"Hey, Ashton," he choked out, hoping to subside his distracted mind.

"Oh, hey, Calum. I didn't even hear you come in," Ashton said, looking at him with a small smile on his face. "When did you want to go?"

"I'm ready to go whenever. What about you? Are you in the middle of something? You can finish it if you want. I'm in no hurry," Calum rambled, hoping that he didn't sound nervous.

Ashton shook his head as he backed his chair out and turned his desk light off. "No. I can finish it when we come back. It's not due for another few weeks anyway. I just wanted to get an idea for it."

Calum couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I bet you already have next semester's class notes already.."

"No, actually. I just like to get things done early and be punctual unlike someone I know, Mr. Always Five Minutes Late," Ashton laughed, grabbing the things that he needed.

"You should know me by now. I'm always fashionably late," Calum chuckled.

Once they were both ready, the two boys took off out of the dorm room and started on their normal route out of the building. They didn't say anything to each other, which wasn't entirely normal for them. Calum always had something to say, but this time, he was so anxious about telling Ashton that it was consuming his mind and that's all he could think of. It was as though everything else in his mind had evaporated.

"So, where are you taking me on this adventure?" Ashton asked, actually sounding excited. That made Calum put even more pressure on himself.

"I was thinking that we could take a trip to that ice cream place over by the pier?" Calum suggested. He had only been to the place once because it was a ways from campus, but he thought that the ice cream was really good. Bryana had also suggested it since it had the old timey ice cream parlor decor to it and according to the blonde, with her touch, it could give off a romantic aura to help set the mood.

"Isn't that an awful long walk?" Ashton asked, his eyebrow quirking. "I'm all about spending time with you, but I don't really want to spend the night walking."

"Well, I was planning on getting my exercise in since I didn't have practice today, but if I guess I can call an Uber for your lazy ass," Calum said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well, excuse my lazy ass, but I'd prefer if we got an uber,," Ashton said with a giggle.

Calum requested a car, feeling himself grow more and more nervous. The car was there within five minutes, about to take them somewhere that could be associated with a great story that they could tell later on in life or a terrible one that could make for the worst freshman year in history. It was still a toss up if Calum even wanted to do it or not, despite having everything set up..

"Where are you guys headed tonight?" the driver, Steven, asked.

"Can you take us to that ice cream place over by the pier? I can't think of the name of it but it's one of the best places in Melbourne. At least, that's what their website tells me," Calum answered.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

The ride was somewhat quiet, causing for Steven to look back at them curiously. Calum was sure that he looked like a nervous wreck. He kept trying to visualize what was going to happen and how Ashton was going to react. From there, he started to imagine how they were going to be tomorrow. If everything went in Calum's favor, they would be a happy couple. They might even have planned their first official date. But then there was the other side to it that was really worrying Calum. What would happen if Ashton didn't have feelings for him back? He didn't want to think about that, but he knew that he should somewhat prepare himself. What would happen to them? It would certainly be awkward for a while. Calum would actually consider dropping out or transferring or moving or anything to assure that he would get away from Ashton. He didn't know how he would handle that level of embarrassment. He wouldn't want to. As conceited as it sounds, it would be too bruising to his manhood, his ego.

"Calum."

Calum shook himself out of his trance and turned his head towards Ashton, who was looking at him with a concerned expression. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Ashton asked. "We've been trying to get your attention."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought. I had a rather long day."  _No, I have a ginormous crush on you and I'm playing out potential scenarios._

"Okay," Ashton said, not completely buying it.

"Well, we're here," Steven announced, proceeding to tell him the price of the ride.

Calum paid him, thanking him and apologizing for zoning out like he had. Ashton and Calum got out of the back of the black Jaguar and he led Ashton to the entrance of the ice cream shop. There wasn't many people in the building, which was relieving to Calum. He could sweat bullets in peace.

"What kind do you want?" Calum asked when they got in the short line.

"What kind do you suggest?" Ashton asked, his voice having a chipper edge to it.

"You can never go wrong with chocolate peanut butter swirl. It's two of the best creations known to man being swirled into one," Calum answered.

"Really? I'm going to have to reassess our friendship," Ashton smirked.

"What do you mean? Do you not like peanut butter?" Calum asked.

"Not when it's with chocolate! If God meant for chocolate and peanut butter to be together, he would've made it that way. Hence why they are two separate things," Ashton answered matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright. Be that way,," Calum smiled, looking to the clerk behind the counter. "I'll take a cookies 'n cream cone. Ashton, what would you like?"

"No, don't bother. I can pay for my own," Ashton shrugged.

"Ignore him. He's delusional," Calum told the man. "Make it two cookies 'n creams."

Calum felt Ashton's glare burning a hole into the side of his cheek, but he didn't much care. He was hoping that buying his dessert would be a peace offering for his poor attitude the past few days. It was the least he could do along with apologizing to him. He also somewhat hoped that it would help to set the mood.

After the man scooped their ice cream cones, Calum gave him the amount before retrieving their cones. The boys went outside and sat down at the table that was furthest away from the building and also the one that Bryana had demanded they sit at since she spent the most time decorating that one. There was a cute lantern centerpiece - much like the one that Bryana had on the shelf of her desk - and twinkling white Christmas lights around the entire area. Calum's heart was racing as he thought about what he was going to do. He wanted to tell him at the right time so it wouldn't ruin the night, but he also wanted to get it done and over with because his nerves were eating him alive.

"I'll pay you back for the ice cream when we get back to the dorm," Ashton told him as he a giant lick from the cone.

"It's okay, Ash. Think of it as an apology for the past few days and how I treated you at the beginning of the year," Calum told him.

Ashton nodded. "Alright, I suppose I can't deny an apology gift. Thank you very much though."

"You're welcome," Calum said as he ate his ice cream. "I am sorry though. Really. I knew I overreacted about you hanging out with someone else and it wasn't fair."

"It's okay. Was there a reason for it? Is there something that's bothering you?" Ashton interrogated.

"Well..."  _I really like you and I don't like knowing that you could be hanging with another guy when you could be hanging with me._ "No. Not really. It's just team stuff."

"This is a really nice place. I really like the decor," Ashton said, looking around at the decorated area. Bryana was going to be tickled when Calum told her that her hard work was noticed.

A silence fell over the two of them as Calum tried to write the script in his head. Watching Ashton eat his ice cream with such innocence was something that Calum could watch all day. It was so peaceful. It was something that he admired. Calum couldn't remember a time that he felt that content. He was constantly doing the routine of school, soccer, and his social life. He never had time to just sit and appreciate things like this. It was actually kind of refreshing.

"Is there a reason that you're watching me eat my ice cream?" Ashton asked, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

"Huh? No. I didn't mean to. I was just zoning out," Calum apologized. It was now or never. "Actually, Ashton, can I talk to you about something?"

"Yes, of course," Ashton nodded.

"So, the reason that I asked you to come hang out with me today was because I have come to realize something in a rather short time. This is a completely new feeling for me and I don't really know how to go about this, but ever since we kissed that time, I have felt something towards you, but I've been trying to repress it since I don't want to lose this really amazing friendship that we have, but I can't take this anymore and I need to tell you. Ashton, I really like you. As in more than a roommate, as more than a friend," Calum told Ashton, who stopped licking his ice cream and was looking at Calum with an appalled expression. "I don't blame you if you don't feel the same way. I shouldn't have dropped this bombshell on you like this, but I needed to tell you. Please say something."

"You have feelings for me?"

\----


	24. Chapter 24

Ashton sat and stared at Calum, not knowing what to say next. It was definitely something that he had feared would happen and now that it has, he didn't know how to handle it. He wasn't going to lie to Calum. Why would he want to lead him on? But, in the same breath, he didn't want to hurt him. It was like Calum had given Ashton a loaded gun and he was forced to decide whether he wanted to pull the trigger or not.

"Calum..." Ashton finally forced out.

"You know what? Forget what I said. Let's just get back to the dorm. Didn't you have homework to do?" Calum rambled, standing up. It hurt Ashton to see that the boy already knew what the answer was going to be.

"Can I please explain myself?" he requested, not moving from the bench.

"We need to get back," was all Calum said before he stalked off through the ice cream shoppe.

There was an obvious awkward tension filling the Uber on the ride back to the dorms. Ashton tried to make conversation, but Calum would only reply with short answers. Ashton turned his head from the window and noticed how different the backseat was. When they were initially going to the ice cream shop, Calum was nearly seated in the middle, close to Ashton. Now Calum was on the other side of the car, seeming so far away. It was as though the small distance across the middle seat was miles long. It was Ashton's fault.

The car stopped outside of their dorm building and Calum threw money at the driver before getting out. They didn't walk up the sidewalk together. Calum was actually walking much faster, trying to escape him. Ashton just drug his feet. He didn't want to go back up to the room and have to do his homework with such tension filling the room. He wanted to talk to Calum and explain why he didn't feel anything back for him other than their friendship, but he knew that he was going to need a little time.

He quit following Calum and took off towards the stairs, figuring that he would rather saunter up them than be stuck in a tiny elevator with Calum. He was tempted to just grab his things and go elsewhere, but he knew that he would just be running away. As he walked up the stairs, he mentally cursed. This was the exact thing that he was afraid would happen and that he didn't want to happen. He wanted to be alone, but he also wanted to be with Calum so he could show him that he wasn't mad about his feelings. While it made Ashton feel awkward, he also didn't want to stop being friends with Calum. With a final sigh, he decided that he would go back to the room and just work on his homework, despite the high tension that was going to be in there.

Calum was lying on his bed when Ashton walked in. Silently, Ashton went back to his desk to pick up where he left off. He wanted so badly to say something to console Calum, but he knew that nothing he could say could make the sting of rejection hurt any less. He wanted to apologize, but he shouldn't have to apologize for his feelings or his sexuality. He just wasn't attracted to Calum. He understood that Calum didn't know about his asexuality since he hadn't let him explain it, but he also figured that he didn't understand it. It wasn't a dig at his intelligence; a lot of people didn't understand what it was.

After about half an hour of awkward tension, Ashton set his pencil down and turned to face Calum's bed. He needed to explain himself. He knew that Calum needed time, but he also needed to understand that Ashton didn't hate him and also understand that Ashton didn't have an attraction to anyone.

"Calum, may I talk to you?" Ashton asked.

"I'm trying to sleep," Calum said while scrolling through his phone.

"The screen on your phone is telling me otherwise," Ashton told him.

"Ashton, I mean this in the nicest way possible. Can you fuck off?" Calum requested.

Ashton let out a huff of air, figuring that it was no use. Calum was going to be understandably angry with him for a bit, so all Ashton could do is continue on with life until he came around. There was nothing more that Ashton could do.

\----

_**-Two Weeks Later-** _

Ashton was walking to the library after his world history class, excited to start his research project. Calum still wasn't talking to him. It was as though he was living with a stranger. While Ashton didn't mind being by himself, he was sad that Calum still wouldn't allow him to explain his reasons to him. However, he couldn't force Calum to listen to him. Ashton sat down at one of the tables when his phone began to vibrate next to him. The Caller I.D. read Luke's name, someone that he hadn't heard from for a while.

"Hello, Luke," Ashton said quietly.

_"Ashton,"_ Luke answered, not bothering to say any other sort of greeting. It wasn't much of a surprise anymore.

"It's been awhile since I've heard from you," Ashton stated.

_"Yes, it has. I just was wondering if you had any dirt on our dearest Calum,"_ Luke requested. Ashton swallowed the lump that was resting in his throat.

"No, I don't actually. I haven't talked to him for a while," Ashton told him, mentally kicking himself after he said it.

_"Oh? Well, why aren't you speaking? Did something happen? You could use that as your mission,"_ Luke pressed.

"It was really nothing of relevance. Just your normal roommate spat," Ashton told him, not wanting to go into any details or lie to him.

_"Just a normal roommate spat and you haven't talked to him for however long? Sounds like something relevant did happen,"_ Luke continued.

"Luke, nothing happened. Besides, it is my business and not yours. I understand that I told you that I would give you all of the information and happenings with Calum that I had, but this just isn't something that I want to get anyone else involved in other than those who already are. I'm sorry, Luke," Ashton said firmly.

_"I don't appreciate your tone with me, Ashton. I specifically told you that your business is my business. When I ask you to tell me something, I expect to get a fucking answer. I don't care if your feelings will be hurt by it or not,"_ Luke argued.

"I don't have anything to tell you. You're not going to bully me into telling you my personal business. I'm sorry, Luke Hemmings, but I am done with this little business deal you think you have going on. Just because you're captain of the soccer team and a star frat boy does not mean that I have to let you control me or my life. I'm done, Luke. Leave Calum and I alone," Ashton scolded into the phone, feeling heated from Luke's button pressing.

_"Oh, you're not done. It's only just started."_

Ashton rolled his eyes and hung up the phone call, not wanting anything more to do with Luke and his games. He didn't really even know why he agreed to his little game to begin with because he knew that something bad was going to amount from it. Although Calum hadn't told him anything, Ashton knew that Luke was somehow using the information that he had previously given to him against him. He thought that he would be protecting Calum, but now he knew better.

Ashton only spent an hour doing his research before he got a text from Michael, asking to meet him at his room. He quickly packed his things into his backpack and decided to head to the bathroom before he took off on his journey to Mike's dorm building. Luckily, there wasn't anyone else in the library, so Ashton didn't have a problem leaving it by the leg of the table. He also was less hesitant because the bathroom wasn't that far away.

Ashton couldn't help but wonder if Michael had talked to Calum. He missed his roommate having fun and talking to him. Calum wasn't the type of friend that Ashton normally had and now that he wasn't making an effort to communicate with Ashton, he realized how much he missed having him in his life. He brought something different to the table and that something different was something that Ashton now realized was something that made him really happy.

Ashton walked out of the restroom and quickly grabbed his backpack up from the floor, starting off on his quest to his best friend's room. On the walk there, he noticed the soccer team running drills off in the distance. He looked longingly at the scene, wishing that he could just go sit on the bleachers and do his homework while waiting for Calum to finish his practice. Ashton never really got into soccer, but he was willing to try to for Calum's sake. Now that he missed him, he couldn't help but imagine scenarios from a perfect world.

Michael was seated on the bench outside of his building when Ashton arrived, looking down at his phone. Ashton quirked his eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Hello, Michael. What are you doing out here?"

"It got stuffy in my room. Besides, the weather is pretty nice out, so I wanted to come out and enjoy it," he shrugged, shoving his phone into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Well, I hate to ask you to go inside, but I was hoping we could hang out and do some homework," Ashton suggested.

"That's fine. It was starting to get too bright out anyway," Michael agreed.

Michael's room was nice, mainly because he was the only one in it and Ashton didn't have to worry about his roommate or if he could use the other furniture in the room because it was all unused. Michael had also opened it up to Ashton if he wanted to crash there, especially now with the whole Calum deal. He thought that was nice as none of his friends before college ever did that for him.

He took a seat on the empty bed and dug out his homework. He opened the history book back to where he had it, only to find a note sticking out of it. He pulled it out, thinking that it was something that he had just forgotten to put back into his folder. However, that wasn't the case when he read it.

"Is everything okay, Ash?" Michael asked.

Ashton didn't say anything and handed the note over to his best friend. Michael took it from him and read it aloud. "'Yours and Calum's secret is safe with me...or is it?'"

\----

Calum walked out of the locker room, his muscles tingling from how sore he was. For the past few weeks, he had been putting his all and even more into practice and his weight training days. He usually put his all into it, but now he was overdoing it. He chalked it up to the fact that he was channeling his aggression through his play. Calum was still a bit salty about Ashton rejecting him like that. He hadn't really expected it. Although he had thought about it happening that way, he wasn't prepared for it. It was more of something that would keep his chill so he wouldn't have fangirled the entire time, anticipating the other answer - the answer that didn't come.

He hadn't talked to Ashton since that night. It was surprisingly easier than he had originally thought. They may live together, but it was as though they didn't. They were both the kind that could easily stay to themselves. It was like what it would've been if none of what happened in the beginning of the year happened. But Calum didn't like it that way. Now that he got to know Ashton, he really missed him. It hurt not talking to him, but it hurt even worse knowing that he rejected him. Calum didn't like making himself vulnerable like that and when he did, he trusted that individual so much. To be shut down like that just bruised Calum.

The walk to his room was quick and quiet except for Jon Bellion's voice playing through Calum's earbuds. He was hoping that Ashton wouldn't be in the room as he just wanted some time to himself so he could change out of his clothes and relax before getting started on his homework. He shoved his key into the keyhole and opened the door, finding both Ashton and Michael in the room. While he wasn't angry at Michael, he couldn't help but mutter 'fuck' under his breath. He had been lowkey looking forward to spending at least a half hour by himself.

Luckily, his headphones were in both of his ears. The music wasn't so loud that he couldn't hear anyone talking to him, but he was going to pretend that they were. He didn't want to talk to anyone and just wanted to be left to his lonesome. As he walked further into the room, Michael gave him a closed mouth smile in salutation while Ashton didn't acknowledge his existence. With a sigh, Calum took off his bag and threw it into the corner next to his desk and kicked his shoes off next to it. Without even thinking, he tore his earbuds from his ears and unplugged them from his phone, laying them on his desk.

"Hey, Cal," Michael spoke as Calum collapsed down onto his bed.

He didn't bother looking from his phone screen. "Hi, Michael."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, sounding like a mum that had caught her child in a lie.

"Depends," Calum said.

Michael was silent and Calum looked away from his phone to see what was going on. Michael was walking towards him and before he knew it, there was a piece of paper placed on his chest. He grabbed it up and read the small note.  _Yours and Calum's secret is safe with me...or is it?_

Calum looked up from the note at Ashton and Michael who were seated on Ashton's bed across from him. "What the fuck is this?"

"We don't know," Michael explained.

"I found it in my history book when I took it out at Michael's after I went to the library," Ashton sighed. His voice was like honey in Calum's ears.

"Did you see who put it in there?" Calum asked, figuring he might as well ask the obvious.

"No. I think it happened when I had went to the bathroom before I left. There was nobody up where I was - or so I thought - so I left my things next to my table," Ashton explained.

"What secret are they talking about?" Michael asked. Ashton and Calum immediately looked at each other, both of their faces unreadable. "Guys, you're going to have to tell me eventually."

"It's nothing," Calum quickly said as Ashton opened his mouth to say something.

Calum didn't know how, but he had an idea of who it was that was starting to threaten them. 

\----


	25. Chapter 25

Once Michael was gone, it made it so Calum could discuss Ashton's note from his lovely secret admirer. Michael hadn't stayed long, but he also couldn't stop grilling them about what the note meant and what the person had been talking about. Calum actually thought Ashton would've told him when it had happened, but apparently, he hadn't. Calum appreciated that. It was their secret that he didn't really want anyone else to know about. Granted, Bryana and Anya knew that Calum had a thing for Ashton, but he assumed that Ashton didn't know that otherwise Calum was sure he would've spilled to Michael. Calum looked over to Ashton's area of the room, the boy lying with his back to him.

"Ash? Are we going to talk about this?" he asked, his voice coming out like a plea for help.

Ashton rolled over, his hair a frizzy mess and his face having a hint of brokenness. "You can talk about it all you'd like, but that won't figure out who did it."

Calum was going to counter his statement, but realized that he was right. There wasn't anyone that he told other than their group and he hadn't seen anyone else there that would actually give a shit about two college students. "Do you know anyone that has it out for you?"

"As I told Michael - Luke does," Ashton told him, repeating it for about the thousandth time that day.

"Unless Luke was stalking us, he wouldn't know anything about it. Have you told him or anyone close to him about anything?" Calum asked. He knew that it was somewhat of a stupid question, but Ashton could surprise him.

"No," Ashton said flatly. "Why would I talk to him? He doesn't even want anything to do with me other than -"

"Other than what?" Calum asked, his ears perking up.

"Other than to ruin me for whatever reason. I don't know why he made me his target that time, but I'm still on guard about it," Ashton admitted.

"Have you talked to any of his friends? Anyone on the team?" Calum continued.

"Why are you drilling me about those bozos? I should be the one asking you!" Ashton snapped. "I wouldn't waste my time because it would probably guarantee me a black eye, which is not a gift that I'd like to receive."

Calum nodded, understanding that there wasn't much of a chance that Ashton would've said anything to anyone. The only reason that he had asked was because Calum didn't know if Ashton had other friends besides the group that he knew. It was possible - Ashton was actually pretty likable when he opened up. "Who all knows about the what all has happened between us?"

"Bryana, Anya, and Michael know about the kiss and everything except the ice cream parlor," Ashton told him. "Who have you told?"

Calum took a seat on his bed, head dropping as he let out a sigh. He knew that Ashton wasn't going to be very appreciative of what he was about to tell him. "Will you let me explain myself after I tell you?"

Ashton gave him a worried look. "Yes..."

"The soccer team also knows about the kiss. And Bryana helped with the whole decorating of the ice cream shop," Calum told him. He was waiting for Ashton to begin shouting at him about the soccer team, but he didn't get any response. He looked up at him and saw a blank expression on his face, as though it wasn't remotely surprising to him. Calum knew he was an asshole, but he thought that Ashton would think more of him than that. Even if it were a girl - well, okay, maybe Ashton did have the right to think that he had told them.

"Well, aren't you going to explain yourself?" Ashton pressed, not sounding pissed at all. Just annoyed that Calum wasn't saying anything.

"I thought you would've been angry," Calum blurted. "I didn't tell the team. Luke had called me one day a few weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to talk to him after practice, in which I did not because he's an asshole and I hate him. He said a dick comment about me kissing guys and I hung up on him soon after that. Well, after practice, he decided to announce to the entire locker room that I kissed a guy - meaning you - in order to embarrass me. I never told him anything about you and me other than when we first met. Even before the whole party situation, I was beginning to keep more and more things that he wanted to know to myself because I knew that he would just use it against you somehow."

"Okay. Not going to lie, I actually expected that the team would know about it, but I actually thought that it would be because you had said something," Ashton told him.

"I didn't! I wouldn't! I'm not that kind of person, not anymore," Calum told him. "The question is though, how did they find out?"

The two were quiet as they contemplated potential scenarios of how anyone could've found out about the kiss. Unless they had a long ladder and were sitting outside of their window, there was no way that anyone could have seen them. That only meant that someone had ratted them out - someone in their friend group.

"Ash, I don't know how to put this, but...I think we have a Judas among the group," Calum spoke, hating to say that. He knew how much Michael, Anya, and Bryana meant to him.

"What do we do?" the boy asked, the most broken expression painted on his features.

\----

Calum laid awake, thinking about that afternoon's events. But ultimately, he was thinking about Ashton. He hadn't planned on having a conversation with Ashton, but circumstances said differently. What if they were together? Would this secret admirer even mean anything to them at that point? Would they even care that someone was trying to embarrass them? Calum didn't really know why Ashton had even rejected him in the first place and he had a feeling that they weren't even going to discuss it. In a way, that's what Calum wanted because he didn't want to think about it. It brought his heart so much pain, but in the same breath, he wanted to know. It was his right to. Sure, he hadn't been the nicest guy to him when the year had started off, but it had been so long since then and Calum felt that he's proven himself and his friendship to Ashton. Bryana said that she saw a spark between them. Why couldn't Ashton?

He flipped onto his left side so he was facing the wall. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. His mind was his worst enemy when it decided to run his thoughts on a 24-hour cycle. The last thing he wanted to think about was the thing that he was, unfortunately, thinking about. If he could stop it, he would, but it seemed that there wasn't a button for that. Either that or Calum just hadn't found it yet.

Who out of their three friends would've blabbed? He hated to profile, but by the looks of the group, he would've called out Bryana. She would be the one that would be most likely to talk to the team because, well, because she was smoking hot. But knowing her personality, there was no way that she would've done that. She cared too much about Ashton to hurt him like that and despite their rocky start, she cared about Calum too. He would like to think that she wouldn't have done that, but Calum just didn't know anymore. Then there was Anya, which was also very, very unlikely. She wasn't really the outgoing type that would go to the parties or talk to the team or frat boys unless it were at the front desk. Even then, she wouldn't exchange personal stories with them. She just wasn't the type of person that would go out and hurt people that she cared about. And the last option was Michael - the man, the myth, the legend. Or so he called himself. Calum didn't know him overly well, but he knew enough to know that he wouldn't do that. In fact, if they were to confront him on it, he would probably respond and ask why he would waste his precious time doing something that wouldn't benefit him. Plus, as far as Calum knew, Ashton was his best friend - at least at Melbourne anyway. Out of the three, Calum just couldn't decipher which would blab or which would send them a threatening note.

"Ashton? Are you awake?" Calum called out, quietly but loud enough for the boy to hear if he were awake. "Ashton?"

"What do you need?" Ashton grumbled into the pillow.

"Are you awake?" Cal repeated, turning himself so he was looking at Ashton.

"I am now. What's wrong with you?" Ashton asked in a hoarse voice, flopping over so he was facing Calum.

"I can't sleep," he started.

"Congratulations. Would you like a medal?" Ashton sassed, obviously irritated that Calum was bothering him.

"You didn't let me finish," Calum snapped. "I was thinking about what happened today. I don't think we should tell Anya and Bryana."

Suddenly, Ashton's lamp turned on and the room was illuminated with the yellow light. Ashton was squinting through his glasses as he let his eyes adjust. "What are you getting at?"

Calum tried hard not to stare at how pretty Ashton looked beneath the light. "Do you know who wrote the note? Do you recognize the handwriting at all?"

"No. Calum, what are you trying to say?" Ashton pressed.

"Who's to say that it wasn't one of our three friends that wrote it?" Calum quizzed. "If one of them was bold enough to blab, what would stop them from playing A?"

"Who is A?" Ashton asked. "And why would any of them threaten to tell about us? None of them would do that."

"A is from Pretty Little Liars. My sister watches it," Calum quickly explained before jumping back to the subject at hand. "One of them had to say something. What would stop them? They might thrive on ruining people and we fell victim to it."

"Go to sleep, Calum," Ashton demanded, quickly flipping off his light.

Calum lie there, listening to Ashton readjust himself in his bed. He knew that Ashton didn't want to think of his friends so negatively, but he had to be ready for the truth if it were to ever come out, no matter how heartbreaking it may be.

\----

Ashton hadn't got any sleep after talking with Calum in the middle of the night. Not because he was saying what he was about their friends, but because he was thinking about it too hard. If he kept sniffing, eventually Calum would figure out that it was Ashton who had told Luke and he would find out about everything - that he had talked to Luke behind his back, told their secrets, was basically the brains behind his locker room incident, everything. Knowing that Calum trusted him and thought so highly of him, that's what really made Ashton feel like the biggest douchebag on the planet.

He didn't want to betray Calum like that, despite having already. He wanted to keep it quiet, just like Luke had promised when they initially made the deal. He had a very good idea that it was Luke or one of his minions that was writing the notes. He wanted so badly to tell Calum that it was him, but he didn't know how he could do that without hurting him and losing a friend. There wasn't any way to really get around it. Ashton had already hurt Calum enough within the month - this would just be icing on top of the shit cake.

Michael had invited him to study with him in the library and it was surprisingly the last thing that he wanted to do. All Ashton wanted to do was be by himself so he could think and not deal with this unnecessary drama that was surrounding him. It was times like that that made him want to go home, back to his old life before going to Melbourne. He didn't have friends, threatening notes, a dumb jock that actually had power over him, a roommate that wanted to date him, none of that. He was completely free of the bullshit back then. It was just him, his mum, and his siblings. That's the way that he liked it and he wanted it back. If this was what he was going to have to go through this all year long, he didn't know if it was even worth it anymore.

It wasn't like Ashton to give up, but that was when he was in control of the situation. This one however? He wasn't. The control was completely out of his hands and there was no way that he could get hold of it. The control was in Luke's hands and he was sure that he wasn't going to give that up, no matter how much he begged, how much bullshit he spewed about Calum. Ashton was literally fucked.

"Ash!"

He looked up from the ground, seeing his red-haired friend waving him down. He nearly stopped in his tracks when he saw Bryana and Anya sitting at the table next to him. Ashton would've been happy to see them, but he just wasn't prepared to face all three of them. He was so out of sorts, it wasn't even funny.

"Hey, Ashton," Bryana greeted, her pearly smile welcoming him as he took a seat next to Anya.

"Are you okay? You look like someone just tipped you over and shook all of your lunch money out," Anya pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I didn't expect to see you two here is all," Ashton blabbered.

"I hope you don't mind. They caught me at the mini mart and I told them they could hang out with us," Michael answered. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you find something out about that note?"

"What note?" Bryana asked.

"It's nothing," Ashton responded, giving Michael a look. "I think I'm actually going to take a raincheck on this study session. I'm not feeling good at all."

The three of them were saying something, but Ashton was too busy fast-walking away from the table. He didn't care that he had to run back down the five flights of stairs that he had just climbed up. He needed to be away from them. He needed to be alone. He needed to figure out what the hell to do. 

\----


	26. Chapter 26

****I don't know if some things are accurate, such as a sports mascot or memorabilia for Melbourne University soccer, but just pretend****

Ashton was losing too much sleep over the whole situation. He continuously kept beating himself up for even talking to Luke. To an outsider, it didn't seem like Ashton had really done anything that bad, but he really had. He told Luke, now Calum's sworn enemy, that the guy was gay and that they had kissed. Apparently, Luke had a vendetta and was more than determined to ruin Calum's reputation on the team and probably campus. Not to mention that Luke was envious of the profession soccer league offers that Calum had. It gave him motive to ruin his life and Ashton had been an accessory to that. He couldn't believe himself.

He flopped over on his side, Calum was snoring lightly on the other side of the room. Another thing that bothered Ashton to no end was that Calum was trying to figure out who told Luke about the kiss and the fact that he was narrowing it down to someone in their friend group being a Judas...it nerved Ashton. He didn't know what to do because he didn't want to lose Calum's trust. He didn't want to lose one of the bestest friends that he has ever had, but he knew that that was going to be something that he wouldn't be able to avoid if Calum were to find out. He didn't know which way to turn.

He could talk to Michael, but Michael wouldn't be very pleased with him either. So, that led to the question as to why would he want to jeopardize two friendships? He then thought more about it and realized that he wasn't jeopardizing just his and Calum's friendship - he was jeopardizing all of them. Calum would turn to someone - most likely Bryana - and tell her what happened. That would then lead to the entire group finding out that Ashton was the one that betrayed Calum's trust and for what? Absolutely nothing. They wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore because why would anyone want to be friends with a backstabbing asshole?

The thing was that Ashton had never been like that before. He would never dream of doing something such as this to someone. What motivated him to do it in the first place, he didn't even know. They weren't kidding when they said that university changed a person - usually for the worse during the first year.

Becoming unbearable with himself, Ashton got out of bed and left the room. He had an eight a.m. class the next day and he needed to sleep so he would be able to focus on his classes. That was more important than anything, but lately, it felt like he put the one thing that he valued most on the back burner for a social life that was crumbling with every second that ticked by on the clock. He just wanted to restart the entire school year.

The bathroom was completely empty when Ashton had entered, thankfully. He went to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror, not recognizing the person that was staring back at him. Who had become in the past two and a half months? He certainly wasn't Ashton Irwin, the nerdy bookworm that wanted to major in art history or English and only listened to Ed Sheeran out of the pop music genre. He wasn't the quiet kid that had one friend that he barely talked to and that everyone had picked on. He was the Judas Priest that backstabbed and crumbled the trust between him and people that he thought of as best friends.

Ashton had become an evil monster that didn't deserve anyone's time or care.

\----

The familiar and annoying sound of Ashton's alarm went off, just scaring Ashton and not waking him up since he had been already. He hadn't gotten that much sleep - just in 15 minute time increments. That was the extent of it and to say he was exhausted was an understatement. Calum stirred in his sleep as Ashton leaned to turn off the Marimba sound. He hated that noise more than anything in the world, but knew that if he changed it, he either wouldn't wake up or he would get more annoyed by the new sound. It was better just to keep it as is.

When he got up, the feeling of exhaustion washed over him. He felt the black circles beneath his eyes forming and a sudden craving for coffee or some sort of caffeine became apparent. Though, he knew that coffee was only going to mask the feeling so much and for so long. What would do him well was a nap. However, his brain wouldn't let him get that because he didn't deserve it.

"G'morning," Calum exhaled, looking like he was well-rested.

"Morning," Ashton responded, not wanting to make too much chit chat. He was scared that Calum would detect that it was him that was the Judas by his voice, even though that was somewhat impossible. If anything, he would just ask what's wrong.

"You look like shit," Calum blurted, looking up at him with his big brown puppy dog eyes.

"Gee, thanks," Ashton chuckled as he threw on his t-shirt. "This is what little-to-no sleep looks like."

"Damn," Calum responded, his morning voice soothing to Ashton's ears. "Why are you going to class then? Just skip it. It's not like you're going to miss anything."

"I'm going to miss material that's covered on the exam, not to mention the final exam. I can't afford to jeopardize my GPA and my semester," Ashton explained to him.

"You're not going to jeopardize anything if you just sleep in for one day. Have someone else take the notes and give them to you," Calum told him.

"If I miss this one class, I will miss a day of notes and explanation from my professor that isn't included in the notes. If I miss that, then I'll be lost for a section of the exam. If I miss that part of the exam, then I will be lost for that part on the final exam. If I get lost on that part of the exam, it will throw down my grade. If my grade goes down because of two exams where I was lost, then my GPA will decrease. If my GPA decreases, chances of scholarship being withdrawn are very likely. If I lose my scholarship, I won't be able to afford to continue in university. If I don't go to university, I won't be able to do anything but minimum wage jobs for the rest of my life, which will result in an unstable life financially and I won't be doing anything except flipping burgers and disappointing everyone and I will be extremely unhappy until the day that I die," Ashton explained, earning a disbelieved look from his roommate.

"You've really thought about this," Calum stated. "Remind me not to convince you of skipping again."

"Right," Ashton nodded and grabbed his bookbag from the floor. "I'm taking a nap after I get back, so don't be too loud when you come in."

"Aye, aye, cap'n," Calum said, bidding Ashton goodbye.

It was moments like that that Ashton felt like the shittiest person to ever exist because moments like that were now numbered.

\----

Ashton walked the fastest that an exhausted university student could muster so he could avoid Luke Hemmings at all costs. He didn't want to see him or speak to him. Lord knows what the man would do. Ashton didn't have enough energy to argue with him nor did he even want to. That and he didn't want to risk Michael, Bryana, or Anya seeing them converse. That would lead to suspicion and then putting two and two together. Ashton wasn't prepared for that confrontation.

"Ash!"

He squeezed his eyes shut before turning around. It was his peer review partner from his English class. They never really spoke unless it was having to do with the class. Granted, he was a nice guy and all, but he was more...social than Ashton was, so their conversations didn't last very long because Ashton didn't usually respond too in depth.

"Hey, Ethan," Ashton greeted with a tight smile as he turned around, watching the shorter American bound up the stairs.

"I didn't know you had class this early," Ethan pointed out.

"Same goes for you. You're always talking about how you would rather be napping," Ashton giggled.

"The eight a.m. wasn't my choice," Ethan laughed. "Anyway, I have to go to class, but before I do, I have something for you."

The two of them stopped walking and Ashton was giving Ethan a confused glance. "We didn't have any partner work in English though."

"It's not for English," Ethan stated, handing him a package wrapped in brown paper with his name written across it in a childish scrawl. "Someone stopped me after English yesterday and told me that I needed to give this to you. I would've given it to you then, but you were already gone and I didn't know where to find you."

Ashton took the oddly shaped package and looked it over, not sure of its contents. "Thanks, Ethan."

"No problem! See you tomorrow!" Ethan smiled as he bounded back down the stairs, his brown hair bouncing with each step.

Ashton had a feeling that the package was from Luke and his clan, but he wasn't so sure. His luck was that he would open it and it would be an organ of some sort or an animal. That was certainly something that he wasn't prepared for. He wasn't a huge fan of innards. Curiosity was going to kill him when it came to opening it, but he didn't want to do it alone. Like the last one, it could involve Calum. But if it said something about Ashton being the one that was the blab, he didn't want Calum to even have knowledge of it coming.

When he got back to the room, Ashton quickly locked the door and went over to his clean desk. On the walk back, he had made up his mind that he should open it, just to see what it was before he should the rest of the gang. It was unpredictable about what could be in there since he didn't have a solid idea of who it exactly it was. He had an idea that it was Luke, but he didn't know. It could be someone that was completely random and out of the blue that had some sort of vendetta against them - or Ashton more specifically.

He quickly clipped the twine that was around it and ripped open the paper. When he got everything off of it, he realized that it was one of the fairy light terrariums from the ice cream shop date stuffed with some sort of garment and a note tied to the hook on the top of it. Ashton gulped as he detached the paper and read it over:  _Sad that you rejected Cally like that. He's already been disowned from his soccer team. His dreams keep getting crushed. Maybe we should keep the cycle going. ;)_

Ashton was slightly worried about what the note meant. There wasn't much that he had told Luke, but the stuff that he had was enough to make Calum despise Ashton for the rest of his life. Another thing that scared Ashton was that Luke knew about the ice cream shop incident. He had never said anything about it to him. How he could've known about it was beyond him. Unless he followed him or Calum said something, there was no way. With a deep breath, Ashton grabbed the terrarium and took out the garment, another note on top of it.

_Wear this on Friday night. Come to Zeta Alpha's party and bring Calum. Find me and we'll talk about ending this, yeah? - Luke_

_P.S. don't you dare mention this to anyone or the offer is off. Trust me. I'll know._

Ashton folded the note back up and gulped. He was right; it had been Luke the entire time. He wasn't going to hesitate about going to that party. All he wanted was this thing to end and for he and Calum to have a normal friendship. That was all he wanted.

\----

Calum entered the dorm room, being quiet like Ashton had asked him to. However, Ashton wasn't asleep in bed. Instead, he was sitting at his desk, pounding away at his keyboard. Calum couldn't suppress the amused smile that graced his face. He half-expected that Ashton would be doing homework. He wasn't one to put it off. It was little things like that that made Calum nearly swoon.

"Doesn't look like sleeping to me," Calum finally said, sliding his backpack from his shoulder.

"I got a burst of energy turns out," Ashton answered quickly.

"Yeah? That makes one of us," Calum chuckled and plopped onto his bed, looking up at his Katy Perry poster that he wasn't as attracted to as he was before. He looked over at Ashton, admiring the boy. That's when he noticed a bit of brown paper sticking out of the trash can, part of Ashton's name written on it. "Did you get another note or something?"

Ashton turned, his eyes widening. "What? No."

"Who was the package from?" he asked, not noticing how ansty Ashton had gotten.

"What? Oh, it was just something from my mum. Nothing else," Ashton quickly responded.

"Did she send it in another box or somethin'?" Calum asked with a bit of a chuckle. It didn't look to have an address on, so that would be the only logical explanation.

"Oh, yeah. It was fragile and she wanted to make it extra secure," he responded, a nervous giggle following. That's when Calum noticed that he was acting a bit off.

"Are you okay?" Calum asked, concerned as to why Ashton had gotten so weird about it.

"Yeah! Why? Am I acting weird?" he asked.

"A little bit. Was something scary in the package or...?" he questioned.

"God, no! It was just a little something from my family. I don't think I need to be put through the enth degree about it," Ashton snapped, completely catching Calum off guard.

"Okay, okay. Chill. I was only curious," Calum said, deciding to back off.

Ashton quickly got up and swiftly took off out of the room, leaving a confused Calum behind. It wasn't like Ashton to get uptight about something that involved his family like a care package. It made Calum question whether Ashton was lying to him, but he didn't want to think about that. Ashton was a firm believer in honesty and there was no way that the boy would lie to him. Was there?

He shoved it in the back of his mind, deciding that he would just forget about it. But it still made its way to the front of his mind. He could envision that Ashton had gotten a threat and he was taking it seriously. The only way to find out was to actually look for the package. It wasn't nice to snoop through someone's things, but in order to make sure that Ashton wasn't hiding something, that's what he was going to have to do and hope that Ashton wouldn't find out about it. 

\----


	27. Chapter 27

_Bing, bing._

Ashton and Michael were seated at the library, texting each other about the package that he had gotten. He knew that Luke told him not to tell anyone, but there was no way that he could keep it to himself. That and he trusted Michael that he wouldn't tell Calum anything. There were certain details that he left out, such as the note that said that Ashton had rejected Calum. For one, he didn't feel that it was any of Michael's business to begin with. Ashton wasn't the kind of person to share every detail of his life with other people.

Michael was looking at Ashton with a confused look and then shrugged. "Do it. What harm is it going to do if you do what you're supposed to?"

Ashton pondered the thought for a moment. "You do have a point, but it's...you know."

It was Thursday, the day before the party at the Zeta Alpha house. Ashton had put it off as long as he could because he didn't want to go nor did he know if he should go in case there was something else planned. He had a pretty good idea that Luke had another agenda if he and Calum were to go.

"It may be, but knowing him, he isn't going to ruin anything if you cooperate with him. So, just go, do as he says, and just get this shit out of the way," Michael whispered to him. "If this is the only way to get this bullshit behind us, then you better do it."

Ashton nodded in understanding. As much as he didn't want to endure a party, he was going to have to. He gathered his things off the table and got up, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. "I suppose I should go persuade him to go."

"It's Cal. Who is he to say no to alcohol?" Michael laughed.

Ashton bid his best friend goodbye and started to make his way back to his dorm room. He had an idea that Calum would agree to going, but he was still nervous for that rejection. Calum had been acting a little weird for the past few days. He'd been more distant than usual and Ashton missed him. He didn't ask why and pretended that he didn't notice because he didn't want to pry - it wasn't really Ashton's thing. He figured that he would tell him if anything was bothering him when he was ready.

"Hey, Ashton!"

Ashton paused and looked up as the voice tore him from his thoughts. It was the Dolan twins rushing towards him. It was kind of weird that Ashton and Ethan were talking outside of English class. He didn't mind since Ethan was a nice guy, but it was just peculiar. It was probably because he didn't feel like Judas around him.

"Hey, Ethan," Ashton greeted with a small smile. He looked at Ethan's brother, who he had never met before but had heard a lot about. "I'm assuming that you're Grayson?"

"Or am I Ethan and you're just seeing double?" Grayson smirked. "Yeah, I'm Grayson."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ashton," Ashton giggled.

"So, now that you two are acquainted...we were wondering if you were going to Zeta Alpha's party tomorrow night?" Ethan asked, looking hopeful.

"Well, I don't really want to, but I was just going to ask my roommate if he wanted to go," Ashton shrugged, not wanting to lie to Ethan.

"Really?! That's so cool! You want to go with us? That way you would have more fun than just going by yourselves," Ethan suggested, sounding excited.

"Uh, I could ask Calum if he'd be cool with it," Ashton said hesitantly. As much as he wanted to hang out with the twins, he didn't know what exactly was going to happen at the party. He didn't want to ditch them, but he also didn't want to get them involved in the bullshit.

"Well, where are you headed?" Ethan asked.

"Uh, back to my room," Ashton stammered.

"We could go and talk to him now, if that's cool. Get to know each other a little bit before we get alcohol in our systems," Grayson suggested.

"I guess that would be okay," Ashton agreed. He felt like he wasn't getting much choice in the matter, but he also didn't want to tell them no because they both sounded rather excited to hangout with him and Calum.

The three of them continued walking towards Ashton's dorm. The twins bantered back and forth with each other and Ashton just chuckled in response. He was getting nervous about everything. He had already hurt Calum and knew that he would lose him as a friend if he were to find out about Ashton's doings, and then if he had to drag Ethan and Grayson into it, they would most likely never speak to him again after finding out what he did. Not to mention he would lose Michael, Anya, and Bryana as well. He would be alone again - friendless. It was what he wanted sometimes, but he knew that he wouldn't be happy if that were the case.

They arrived at the dorm room and Ashton found himself wishing that Calum wasn't there. He didn't want to hang out with anyone and he also didn't want to spend the afternoon talking about how 'lit' and amazing a party that had the potential to be the one that could ruin all of his friendships was going to be. The last thing that Ashton was going to be doing was having a 'lit' time. There was nothing that was going to be fun about that party.

"Hey, Ash," Cal's voice said as soon as the door opened.

Ashton peeked his head in and saw his roommate sitting at his desk on his laptop - almost a rarity since Calum was never one that did his homework for fun. "Hey, Calum. I brought my partner from English and his brother over if you don't mind."

"No, no, bring 'em in," Calum welcomed. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Ashton smiled at that and led in the twins. Calum's eyes darted between them as soon as they were both in the room. "Either I'm seeing double or they're related."

"Calum, this is Ethan and Grayson Dolan. Ethan and Grayson, this is my roommate, Calum Hood," Ashton introduced. There was quite a bit of introduction going on.

The three of them said their hellos and Grayson began to oogle over his posters. They both sucked after Calum, leaving Ashton alone. He wasn't jealous or anything - he halfway expected it to happen. He just went to his desk and decided to start on his homework until they wanted to talk to him again. However, it really struck his nerves when he saw what was lying on his desk. It was the notes from Luke that he had gotten in the fairy light - the ones that he had buried in the trash can so nobody would find it.

With a quick but discrete movement, Ashton grabbed the note and shoved it into his top desk drawer. Neither of the three had even noticed it, but it got Ashton sweating. Had Calum read it? Did he know something? His stomach was on the floor and his heart was beating in his chest as he realized that the end had come sooner than he had realized.

\----

"See you guys tomorrow night. Good to meet you!" Calum called after the twins as they walked down the hall.

He closed the door, a smile on his face. The visit with Ethan ad Grayson was something that Calum felt that he needed. It was like quality bro time, even if they had just met. Calum just clicked with them because they seemed to share the same interests as him. He hadn't felt that kind of friendship or connection like that since high school. Those two were his kind of people.

Ashton was sitting on his chair, his back resting against the wall rather than the backrest. He was reading a book - one part of the Game of Thrones series. The expression on his face told that he was so invested and concentrated on what was happening in the book, as though nothing that happened around him would even phase him. Calum admired him, his beauty. He wanted nothing more than to just caress his cheek and distract him from the book for a minute with a chaste kiss.

"They were cool guys. How come you've never brought them around before?" Calum asked, wondering as to how long Ashton had been friends with the two.

"We haven't really talked much outside of class until recently. I just met Grayson before I brought him here," Ashton told him, his hazel eyes meeting Calum's.

"Oh, well, I guess that's cool," Calum shrugged. "I didn't think that you would go to the party. Especially since last time."

"Well, you're not pretending to be my friend either. I don't really want to go, but my mum told me that it would be good to be a little rebellious, even if I didn't drink," he told Calum, trying to play it off casually. However, Calum knew the truth.

"No, she didn't," Calum said flatly.

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked. "I'm serious. All I ever did in high school was do homework. I never went out and I barely had a friend. Now I have a whole group of them and I'm going to another frat party, despite my preferences."

"Ashton, you don't have to keep hiding it. I knew about the party. I knew that you were going to try to get me to go," Calum continued.

The look on the boy's face fell as he realized what Calum was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"The notes. I read them. That's why they were out on your desk," Calum admitted, watching as Ashton's complexion turned a ghastly white. "Who did you tell about that night, Ashton?"

There was hesitation as Calum waited for his love interest to answer him. Ashton was averting Calum's eyes, but he could see that they glassed over with tears. As much as Calum was hurt that Ashton may have told Luke or one of his posse about their failure date, he kept in mind that it wasn't necessarily Ashton's choice, especially if he had to tell Luke. As far as he knew, Ashton didn't like Luke one bit. To tell him something like that would've had to been under some type of pressure.

"I didn't tell anyone, Calum, I swear it!" Ashton swore.

"Ash, you don't have to continue trying to cover it up. I'm not mad at you," Calum told him.

"I'm not lying or anything, Calum. I didn't tell anyone what happened that night," Ashton told him. He went quiet and looked down, tears beginning to stream down Ashton's cheeks. He looked back up at Calum after a few moments, his voice shaky as he spoke. "Calum, I have a confession that I need to make."

Calum gulped, not really sure what he was expecting. Judging by Ashton's tears, he had a feeling that it was going to be something major. With a deep breath, Calum nodded. "Okay. Let it spill."

"I'm the Judas."

\----


	28. Chapter 28

Ashton tugged at the sleeves of the shirt that came in the package that Luke had sent. It amazed him that the outfit fit him - it was like Luke knew exactly what size he was. Granted, Ashton was more of an average size, so it was a pretty safe guess to get him a medium or large. He looked at himself in the mirror, still somewhat disgusted with himself, though not as much as he had been the day prior. After talking and crying to Calum about what had exactly happened, he learned that his roommate understood. Calum wasn't mad at Ashton for having said those things, especially when he had learned the reason he had done it. He was more angry with Luke for having lied to Ashton and also forcing him to say those things. It surprised Ashton - he had lied and went behind Calum's back, yet he wasn't mad and didn't have any intentions on ending their relationship.

"What - woah," Calum started when he walked into the room, but stopped mid sentence, looking at Ashton with a shocked expression.

"What?" Ashton asked, somewhat oblivious as to why Calum looked like a deer in headlights. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Uh, nothing," Calum stuttered, his cheeks tinting red. "Um, what time were the twins coming?"

"I think they said they were going to be here around eight," Ashton responded.

He took a seat at his desk and grabbed his book, deciding that some reading would help to relieve his nerves. He noticed that Calum kept glancing over at him, checking him out almost. It made him feel bad that he was basically teasing Calum. He had rejected his love and affection, yet here he was, dressed to the nines and showing Calum that he could look but not touch. It made Ashton feel terrible because he didn't want to see Calum hurting like that. He loved Cal, he didn't want to crush him. It was then that he realized that that was Luke's intent.

There was a knock on the door just a few minutes later and Calum rushed to open it, revealing Ethan and Grayson on the other side. They walked in, Ethan chuckling about something that Grayson had said.

"Wow, Ash. You look good. You're gonna definitely get some tonight," Ethan said with a smirk once he spotted Ashton.

"Oh, um, yeah," Ashton giggled awkwardly. If he was getting some, it was going to be a milkshake and it would be with Calum. Or someone else who wanted to get a milkshake.

That's when Grayson piped up. "What, sleeping with people isn't your thing?"

Ashton shook his head. "Uh, no. I'm not really one to sleep around."

"Dammit, Gray. Just because you don't have a sex life doesn't mean that you need to live vicariously through someone else's," Ethan scolded.

"I'm not! You started it," Grayson defended.

"I didn't start anything! I made a douchey comment because, well, I had a fuckboy moment and you continued it," Ethan pointed out. He turned back to Ashton. "Neither of us are going to be invasive twats that want to know about your sex life. We also don't sleep around. Just so we're clear."

Ashton smiled tightly. "Yeah, I assumed that you didn't."

Calum was stood back in the corner, trying not to look at Ashton. A frown formed on Ashton's face because he knew it was all his fault. He didn't return the same feelings and it was crushing his roommate, his best friend. That made him sad because he wished that he could feel the same way, but that just wasn't possible. There was no desire or yearning for love like that. Plus, even if he had, he would be straight. Or would he? He saw Bryana in the bare minimums, yet he did wish that it was Zac Efron or someone like that. He thought back to certain times and how he imagined a male instead of a woman. He wasn't gay - he couldn't be. He didn't want to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone. He was asexual. He didn't have feelings like that.

"Ashton!"

Ashton's head snapped up to Ethan, who was looking at him with concern. "Yeah?"

"You alright? You zoned out there for a minute," Ethan asked.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Are we ready to go?" Ashton asked, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"That's what we were trying to ask you," Grayson laughed.

The four of them left the room, walking down in pairs - Ethan and Grayson, Calum and Ashton. It was a bit uncomfortable for Ashton because they weren't going to this party just to party. They were going to face Luke Hemmings - the man that wanted Calum's goals and future to be demolished and had drug Ashton into his diabolical plan. The two of them didn't say anything, mainly because Calum was trying his hardest not to look at him and Ashton was too awkward to know what to say.

They decided on taking the Dolans' vehicle. Ashton wondered how they had a vehicle in Australia when they lived in the United States, but his question was answered when they told them that they only had it because they had some relative that was placed in Perth for their career, so they gave Ethan and Grayson one of their extra vehicles. It was quite interesting to hear the stories that the twins told. They always were poking at each other and going on about certain places in New Jersey, where they were from, and Los Angeles, where they traveled to often. Ashton liked to listen to them because he didn't really know about places in America and when he would get entertaining stories to go along with them, it was definitely worth sitting there and enduring it.

"This little shit had driven around for the longest time with me blindfolded and he took me back into our apartment. We spent, like, four hours circling," Ethan laughed as they drove up to the frat.

"That is classic!" Calum laughed, seemingly more chipper than he had been when they had first got in the car. Ashton was happy that the twins had come along. Not only were they providing entertainment, but they were distracting both Ashton and Calum from the matter at hand.

Grayson parked the car in a spot that looked to be safe from drunks and careless people. The four of them got out and began to walk up the somewhat short drive to the front door of the house. There were people wandering around, beers and red cups filled with liquor in their hands. Ashton felt tense as he walked in the door and he could see that Calum was too. However, Ethan and Grayson were ready to let loose and have a good time.

"What do you guys want to drink?" Ethan asked.

"Um, we actually have to find someone first, so I think we're going to hold off," Ashton told him, earning a shocked look from Calum. He didn't think that Calum would want to drink.

"Oh, alright. Well, good luck in finding whoever you're looking for. You've got our numbers," Ethan winked, walking with Grayson towards the kitchen.

The two of them began to walk together, not knowing exactly where Luke would be. That was when Calum grabbed Ashton's hand, leading him to where he thought that Luke would be at. It took Ashton a little off guard when he had grabbed his hand, but what really caught him by surprise was the feeling that he felt while holding it. It felt right, like his hand belonged there. They fit perfectly together. It was like two jigsaw pieces fitting together.

Ashton pushed the thoughts out of his mind, not knowing where in the world that they had come from. It was kind of scary because he knew that he didn't have any feelings for Calum. He didn't want to be in a relationship and he wasn't going to be. That was why he had rejected him in the first place. Ashton wasn't the type of person that wanted a relationship and he didn't desire it. Or did he? His thoughts were clogging his mind so much, he didn't know anymore.

Ashton ran straight into Calum when they suddenly stopped. As he steadied himself, he met eyes with Luke, who was sitting on the back of a chair, looking as though he was at some sort of fraternity dinner rather than a frat party. He was talking to a bunch of other guys - presumably his fraternity brothers - who each had girls on their laps. All except Luke.

"Hey, fellas. It's about time you got here," Luke greeted, soundly strangely pleased to see them. He got down from the chair and went over to the shelf by the window that had a slew of liquor bottles on it. "Want something to drink? Calum?"

"I'll have a whiskey," Calum said almost immediately. Ashton assumed that it was because he was just going to drink it to get the edge off.

"Ashton? What do you want? Or would you like some water because you're too much of a prude?" Luke smirked, earning laughs from his friends. Ashton and Calum were the only ones who were unamused.

"I'm fine for right now," Ashton said, his voice emotionless.

Luke's bemused expression turned into the cold-hearted one that he had when he had talked to Ashton privately. He set down the bottle of liquor in his hand and gave Calum his drink. He turned to his posse. "You lads go and enjoy the party. I need to have a word with these two."

It didn't take long until the crowd was down to Luke, Calum, and Ashton. It was almost intimidating. Luke gestured to the chairs across from the one that he was already seated in. Ashton was more hesitant and visibly nervous, unlike Calum who appeared confident. Ashton was envious of Calum because of it. He wished that he could be that confident, but he was pretty sure that all of his confidence got lost in the war.

"So, Ashton, Calum. I believe we have a few things to talk about," Luke started when they were all seated.

"Why did you send those threats? Why the hell are you so dead set on ruining my future? It's not my fault that you're not a good enough player to have professional teams sending you offers," Calum started getting defensive.

"No need to be bitchy, Cal. I didn't send those threats," Luke admitted, earning confused glances from both of them. "But, before anything, let's explain why you even got those threats."

"I already know, Hemmings," Calum sneered. "You had no right to force Ashton to turn against me like that."

Ashton wanted to slap Calum along the head. He was supposed to keep it to himself, but yet, here he was telling Luke that he already knew everything. He could've literally just fucked both of them. Instead of doing anything about it, however, Ashton looked down, scared to say anything in fear of what could happen.

"I know. Ashton told you yesterday," Luke said flatly.

"I did that in the confidence of our room. There is no way you could've known that," Ashton snapped suddenly. He was really annoyed with how Luke was finding out all of these things.

"I told you that I would know. You act like I'm not serious," Luke scoffed. "But, let's cut to it. Guys! Come in here please!"

Calum and Ashton turned around to face the closed doors, only to be faced with two very familiar faces that they didn't expect to see: Ethan and Grayson Dolan.

\-----


	29. Chapter 29

Calum couldn't believe his eyes. Grayson and Ethan were in on Luke's evil plan? It nearly broke Calum's heart hearing that. He thought the two were actually cool and wanted to be his friend. He felt like himself again when he hung out with them. But in the end, they turned out to be like the majority of his ex friend group back in Sydney - they used him for their own personal gain.

"What the fuck, guys?" Calum blurted. "I thought you were better than that."

The two boys looked ashamed of themselves, as they should. Grayson was the one who spoke up. "You guys have every right to hate us. We actually are pretty pissed with ourselves too. I don't know why we even went through with it to be honest."

"Save your breath," Calum scoffed turning back around to Luke. He wasn't going to listen to their bullshit excuses. They wouldn't have done it if they didn't have some type of benefit. "So, are you going to tell me what the fuck you have out for me? We were friends at the beginning of the year and you went ahead and ruined it. So, if you're still pissed about that, fucking grow up. I owned up to my faults. Not that hard to take responsibility for your own stupidity."

Luke's expression was stone cold. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Calum. You sit here and think you can tell me exactly what I'm thinking when you're exactly wrong. I don't have anything out for you. Yeah, maybe I was a little vengeful after the whole thing when we stopped being friends, but I don't have anything against you now."

The confusion that was going through Calum's head was too much. Why would Luke have done any of that shit, trying to ruin Calum's life and potential career if he didn't have anything against him? He could see the confusion on Ashton's face as well. That was pretty bad that he completely confused Ashton. That kid was the smartest human being around.

"Why do I smell bullshit? That doesn't make any sense to me as to why you would do any of that if you didn't want to try and hurt me in some way," he stated angrily. He was beginning to get tired of this shit. He just wanted to go back to his dorm room.

"I didn't want to hurt you!" Luke shouted, making everyone in the room jump a little bit. He was standing, a defensive expression on his face.

Calum shot to his feet as well. "Really?! You didn't want to fucking hurt me, yet you did everything that would leave some type of scar that you could. What the fuck are you smoking, Hemmings?! None of this makes any God damn sense! I'm not going to sit here and listen to you bitch, piss, and make excuses about how innocent this all was and how you didn't have any malicious intentions. So, fuck you, Luke. Fuck you."

He slammed the cup on the table and began storming towards the door. Calum didn't care if anyone followed him - he just wanted to get out of there and fume by himself. Ashton could listen to Luke's bullshit as much as he wanted, but Calum wasn't going to have anymore of it.

"I did it because I like you."

Calum stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he was hearing - more like, he didn't want to. After a minute, he turned around to face Luke. He was looking at him with a stony expression, as though he didn't just say what Calum thought he had said.

"Excuse me?" Calum snarked.

"I wanted to spend more time with you or make sure you didn't forget me," Luke admitted, adding to the hunk of bullshit and confusion that he had already created.

"What the fuck? What kind of relationship guru do you take advice from?" Calum asked.

"I know. It's the shittiest way to try and woo someone, but I didn't want to lose you. I wanted to keep in your life somehow and my shitty impulses were the only way I knew how. And ever since Ashton told me that you kissed him, I felt jealous. I wanted revenge because that should have been me that you were kissing," Luke continued.

"So, harassing me and trying to ruin my life was supposed to magically make me fall in love with you? That's why we're here? So you can tell me all of this bullshit and then I'm supposed to tell you that I have feelings for you too? It doesn't work like that, Luke. Not only that, but I don't want anything to do with you anymore. You've ruined my life enough and I'm not going to risk it anymore," Calum told him, watching as an apologetic and heartbroken expression crossed his face. "Ashton, come on. We're leaving."

Ashton didn't say anymore and got up from the chair. The two of them walked back into the party, surrounded by the hoard of co-eds that were under the influence of alcohol, not having a care in the world. Calum felt a pang of envy towards them. He wanted to be wasted and having a good time, not listening to some sociopath tell him that he wanted to be with him.

"How are we going to get back?" Ashton hollered over the loud music.

"It's not that far. We can walk," Calum stated.

"Cal, it's dark outside and it's going to take us forever to get back to the dorm," Ashton told him. "I'll call for a cab."

"I want to leave now, dammit!" Calum demanded, causing Ashton to cower backwards. He felt bad for startling him, but he also was too pissed off to apologize.

"Calum! Ashton!"

Calum felt as Ashton pulled his sleeve to stop him from continuing on. He turned around towards the ones shouting at them and saw none other than Ethan and Grayson Dolan running towards them. Calum rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk to them and be lied to even more.

"What makes you think that we want to fucking talk to you again?" Calum snapped at them as they approached.

"We want to apologize. Neither of us wanted to do this. I know that you probably aren't going to believe a word that either of us say, which is understandable, but do believe us when we say that our friendship - or budding friendships - with you are genuine. Everything we said has been real and genuine," Grayson explained.

"And if you didn't want to do it so bad, how come you did? I'm sorry, but we've dealt with enough bullshit excuses for the day. So, have a good fucking night and never talk to us again," Calum sneered, turning to continue his way back to the dorm, but Ashton's voice stopped him yet again.

"Give them a chance, Calum," he snapped.

It was weird because Calum suddenly felt guilty for snapping at the twins like he had. So, he decided that he would give them a chance to explain themselves. Maybe they would just surprise him.

\----

Ashton was lying on his bed, thinking about the events that had taken place that night. It was so overwhelming and confusing. He was still puzzled by Luke's reasoning as to why he did it. He didn't fully understand why tormenting someone because he had romantic feelings for him would make Calum turn around and actually want to be involved with him. It was frankly the stupidest excuse that Ashton had ever heard someone come up with and he had heard quite a few.

As soon as he and Calum had gotten a ride from the Dolans from the party, he and Calum had immediately went to bed. They didn't go to sleep right away - Calum had scrolled through his social media and Ashton read in some of his book. But now, it was just Ashton lying awake, staring at the ceiling while his thoughts whirled through his brain. So many feelings and emotions were swirling around, he didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

As much as he hated to admit it, it bothered him that Luke had a crush on Calum. Although Ashton knew that Luke's chances with Calum were in the negatives, but it still bothered him. He kept trying to tell himself more and more that he didn't have any feelings for him, but it was to the point that he couldn't take the denial anymore. It was like his brain got sick of him lying to himself and wouldn't let him believe it anymore.

He was no longer the only one that was pining after Calum and that was what was eating at the back of Ashton's mind. Granted, he wasn't even sure if Calum still had feelings for him. He thought that he did, but that was because that was what he liked to think. For all he knew, Calum could've moved on. That's what Ashton had basically told him to do before he had realized that he actually did like him. He wasn't sure if he blew it, but he didn't know how to bring it up to him. Ashton had never felt this way about a person before. He didn't know what to say or do in order to let Calum know that he was ready.

Ashton rolled over on his side so he was facing the wall. He finally decided to shut his eyes. There was a lot of shit that had happened to Ashton in the past months that he had been away at Melbourne. Some of the negative things had come to a head. He was hoping that it would end and something good would finally happen. Something that would make Ashton feel like leaving his comfort zone of Hornsby wasn't a mistake.

\----


	30. Chapter 30

It was the Monday after the party and after everything had occurred. Everything was still awkward. Neither Ashton or Calum really left the dorm that weekend - Calum only did for practice and Ashton only did if he needed to escape. Calum hadn't really talked to anyone other than Ashton, which didn't happen that much either. It wasn't awkward between them. At least, not in Calum's mind. It was more awkward with the whole situation and he didn't know what to make of it. He didn't think that Ashton did either. The poor guy had to see Ethan more than Calum did, so that was going to be rough. At least, it would be for Calum since he doesn't buy their apology, but Ashton had been willing to give them a chance. That was why they were going out to dinner that night.

Practice was weird, but Calum seemed to manage okay. It was easy to avoid talking to Luke since he'd been doing it for awhile. He avoided him in the locker rooms by asking the coach if he could have some extra time to practice before and after scheduled practice times. Of course, the coach was okay with granting his wishes because of the whole professional soccer scouts coming to the games. He didn't want anything to do with Luke. Not because Luke had feelings for him, even though that did have a part of it, but because Luke was a sadist. That may have been harsh, but what he did to Calum, to Ashton, that was ruthless. He ruined a lot of things, but if Calum were to allow it, he could ruin even more.

Calum pounded away at his keyboard, trying to write some stupid essay. He had no idea what he was writing, but he knew that he had to get it done. Normally, he would go through some website to have it written, but he wanted to get his mind off of everything that was clouding it. Granted, it wasn't working the way that he had wanted because he was just typing up bullshit.

The door opened and he assumed that Ashton was back from class. He didn't turn around or say anything. That was how it had been. He didn't want to talk to him or anyone for that matter. When Calum was angry, he just wanted to be left by himself. It was better off that way because he had a high potential to say something destructive.

"Are you okay with going to the pizza place that we usually do?" Ashton asked suddenly, interrupting Calum's annoying and negative thoughts.

"That's fine," he exhaled.

"Calum, I know they made a big mistake, but at least give them a chance to explain why they did it," Ashton pleaded.

Calum spun his office chair around so he was facing Ashton. "I'm going to this fucking dinner, aren't I? What more do you want me to do, give them a foot massage and suck their dicks so they get the impression that I'm understanding?"

Ashton slumped his shoulders. "Jesus Christ, Calum. Can't you take anything seriously? They didn't do anything terribly wrong even. It wouldn't be fair not to let them explain themselves. It's not like I'm asking you to forgive or hear Luke out."

Calum huffed. He and Ashton were most obviously on different pages. Unlike Ashton, Calum wasn't so forgiving of people when they betrayed him or lied to him or had a hand in trying to ruin his life and future. He knew that Ethan and Grayson hadn't had as big of a part in it as Luke, but he still didn't believe them when they aid that they were genuine about their friendship. The whole thing reeked of bullshit and Calum couldn't stand it. If they were so genuine about having a friendship with them, they wouldn't have done what Luke supposedly forced them to do.

"When are we supposed to go?" Calum asked, annoyed that he had to go out into public.

"I told them that we would meet them at four, so in about twenty minutes if that's okay," Ashton told him.

Calum couldn't help the annoyed sigh that escaped him. "Yeah. That's dandy."

Calum turned back to his laptop, deciding that he would try and finish up his bullshit essay before they had to go listen to some more shitty excuses from people that he didn't want anything to do with. It wasn't worth it to him to hear what the Dolans had to say because there wasn't a chance that they could convince Calum. It was a waste of time and energy.

\----

Calum followed Ashton into the pizza place. He hadn't been in there since...since a long time ago. The twins were sat at a table that was in the far corner where they were alone. Surprising. As they approached, Calum noticed that the two of them looked tense. Thankfully, there was already pizzas on the table, so it meant that as soon as they were finished eating, Calum would be able to leave and never have to talk to the twins again.

"Hey, guys. Thank you for meeting us," Grayson started.

"We needed to hear your side of things before anything rash happened," Ashton stated.

The two of them sat across from the twins, both of which were struggling to make eye contact with Calum. Without a word, Calum grabbed a slice of the pineapple pizza. Might as well eat while they were there. He didn't care if it wasn't for them or not. He wasn't going to completely waste his time.

"I'm not going to stay here if you're going to sit in silence," Calum blurted out, his mouth full. "Why the fuck did you do it?"

Ethan and Grayson were somewhat taken aback by Calum's abruptness. They shifted uncomfortably and Ethan spoke up. "We talked about this and we both want you to know that we didn't do this because we wanted to. Luke somewhat forced us into it."

"We also didn't realize what it all entailed. We thought that it was just delivering a few packages anonymously for shits and giggles. There was no way that we would've done it if we knew what the notes said or the real reason behind it," Grayson explained. "I don't know about E, but I think that you both are really cool people and didn't deserve what Luke did to you or what we had a part in."

"How did he talk you into it?" Ashton asked.

"He just told us that we need to play messenger and that it was a team prank. Basically, he made it sound like it was an annual thing that they did for hazing or whatever every rush season," Ethan explained.

The three of them sat and continued to talk about their wrongdoings while Calum just sat by himself, pretending to listen. He wasn't interested in their claims. He was sick of being bothered by people that just wanted to use him. Calum just wanted to be around people that made him happy.

\----

It worked in Ashton's favor that Calum had decided to leave early. He was left alone with the twins, who he trusted talking to. Despite what happened, Ashton forgave Ethan and Grayson because he truly believed that they wouldn't intentionally try to hurt either of them. They weren't those types of people. All they had was good in their hearts and wouldn't deliberately hurt anyone. It was just him and Ethan sitting in an awkward silence while Grayson was in the restroom. It wasn't a normal occurrence for it to be awkward when they were together. Sure, there were moments of silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Not this awkward kind.

"Is everything alright, Ash? You look distracted," Ethan asked. "I mean, if you want to go back to your dorm, that's okay. I understand - we understand."

"Oh, no. It's not you. I was serious when I said that I forgive you," Ashton reassured. "I was just thinking."

"Oh, yeah? About what?" the boy asked as he nibbled on a slice of pizza.

"Um, it's nothing. Just...stupid," Ashton shrugged, feeling his cheeks heat.

"It can't be too stupid since it seems to be bothering you," Ethan told him. "I don't mean to press, but if you want to talk, I'm all ears."

Ashton nodded in silence, debating on whether or not he wanted to talk about it to Ethan. It wasn't that Ethan wouldn't try to help him, but Ethan wasn't gay. At least, as far as Ashton knew. "It's Calum. I think I have feelings for him, but I don't know if he has the same back anymore."

"Wait, anymore? What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

Ashton proceeded to tell him the story, feeling good as he opened himself up to someone. It was nice. It was someone new that offered a different opinion and that was a good feeling. Ashton felt vulnerable, but he wasn't uncomfortable. Ethan didn't make him feel that way - he made him feel comfortable and like it was normal to feel that way about your roommate and arguably your best friend. Grayson was the same way. It was a refreshing conversation.

"I think you should go talk to him about it," Ethan stated finally.

"You guys would actually be pretty cute together," Grayson agreed. "You never know if you don't try."

"I don't know. He just...he doesn't seem like he's in the best mood and I don't want to spring it on him," Ashton said, trying to talk himself out of it.

"Yeah, but he sprung it on you," Ethan told him. "It might just make his day better."

Ashton knew that both Ethan and Grayson were right with their encouragements. They gave him some confidence in himself, but he was still skeptical about it. But he couldn't stand the thought of not going another day without being with Calum. He didn't want to be faced with the embarrassment of Calum rejecting him, but if he wanted him, then he was going to have to tell him. That was the only way that Ashton would be completely happy again.

"I think I'm going to go tell him," Ashton stated, standing up from the table. "Thank you for everything today. I'm glad we met up."

Grayson exchanged a look with Ethan. "We are too. Thanks for giving us a chance to explain ourselves."

"I expect a fucking text when you and Calum become official!" Ethan called after him as Ashton began walking towards the door. A big smile graced his face.

There wasn't anything in his way of being with someone that made him happy.

\----

Ashton walked in the door about an hour after he had left the twins. He kept psyching himself out about talking to Calum. The only scenarios that were playing through his head were ones where Calum would reject him. That scared him more than anything. Rejection wasn't something that Ashton was sure he could handle - especially after letting himself feel that way about someone when he told himself that he never would.

"Thought you were never going to come back," Calum muttered, staring at the TV screen at whatever video game he was playing.

"I needed their help with something," Ashton said, trying to mask the nerves in his voice. "Calum, can I talk to you?"

"You already are, so I don't see what harm talking to me even more would do," Calum shrugged, not taking his eyes off the game. It was kind of pissing Ashton off.

"I need your full attention," Ashton said, his voice more confident but stern.

Calum paused the video game and turned to face Ashton, a concerned expression on his face. "Okay. What?"

Ashton took a deep breath, knowing that in just seconds his life and his friendship was going to change forever - hopefully for the better. He shut his eyes and mentally prepared himself. When he finally felt enough confidence, he let the words out.

"Calum, I have feelings for you."

\----


	31. Chapter 31

_**March 2018 | Spring Semester** _

Ashton was rushing over to the pizza parlor after class, knowing that he was late in meeting everyone there. His professor had kept him after class to talk about something with the lessons for the next class session. It happened quite a bit since Ashton got into the honors English course. The professor adored him and his work, so he always had to talk to him to get his perspective on things.

However, he didn't like when it happened when he was meeting up with his friends and it made him late. Ashton was not a fan of being late to things, whether it was just hanging out or going to an important appointment. When he got into the restaurant, the group was in their usual place back in the corner where they usually sat. A smile spread across Ashton's face as he walked over to where everyone was laughing and having a good time. He took his usual spot next to Calum, setting his backpack on the ground next to the table.

"Hey, baby," Calum greeted, leaning in and placing his lips on Ashton as he sat up. "Was beginning to think that ou weren't going to show. Your professor keep you late again?"

"He wanted to talk about our writing assignment and what ideas I had for it," Ashton told him with a smile, pecking his lips once more.

"You two are nauseating," Michael grumbled while stuffing a breadstick into his mouth.

"Oh, shut up, Michael. They're adorable," Bryana exclaimed, giving Michael a slap on the arm.

Calum and Ashton made themselves official a few days after Ashton had told Calum that he had feelings for him. It was awkward at first, hence why it didn't happen right away. Calum wanted Ashton to be sure that he was sure of his feelings. Ashton didn't want to think about it because he knew that he was sure, but he was glad that he did. It made him realize just how strong of feelings that he had for Calum and they had been happy ever since. Now that he was with Calum, he couldn't imagine not being with him. Having someone to love like that was the best feeling in the world. Months ago, he never thought that he would ever know or want to know what the feeling of love and being loved was. It was amazing how little of an amount of time can change a person.

"Where's the twins?" Ashton asked Anya, who was trying to pursue Grayson.

The girl blushed and gave an embarrassed smile. "I don't know..."

"Our girl here got Gray's number," Calum winked, taking a sip of his Coke.

"Oh, really? You're one step closer," Ashton smiled, proud of his shy best friend.

After a few weeks, Ashton had finally convinced Calum to forgive the twins. They started to invite the two to hang out with the group, who they seemed to get along really well with. Of course, it was a bit awkward at first, but everyone quickly warmed up to them. Shortly after they all began hanging out, Anya had told Ashton that she was developing a crush on Grayson. It was cute and Ashton shipped them together immediately when he found out about it. The others, minus the twins of course, had found out about her crush on their own. It wasn't as though she was good at hiding it - at least, to everyone except Ethan and Grayson, who were oblivious. As time went on, the shy Anya had gotten braver and talked to Grayson, who of course was friendly right back. They became close and have continued to. Ashton could only hope for a fairy tale ending and he believed that she had a chance at getting it. Guys like Grayson normally didn't go for ladies like Anya, unfortunately. But considering that Grayson wasn't a fuck boy and was actually one of the sweetest beings that was developing a relationship with her, there was potential for it to blossom.

"Didn't they have a frat meeting or something?" Bryana asked curiously. "I thought I remembered Ethan saying something about it yesterday, but I didn't choose to remember it."

"An, why don't you shoot loverboy a text?" Calum winked, causing the girl to blush.

"Have you heard from the Sydney FC scout yet?" Ashton asked, wanting to know if his boyfriend was going to start his career as a professional athlete.

"No, haven't heard a word," Calum shook his head.

"When's the deadline?" Michael asked.

"This month sometime. I should be hearing from them soon if they want me bad enough," Calum told them.

The soccer team had won the championship, a lot of credit going to Calum. If they wouldn't have had him, they wouldn't have even made it into the playoff rounds. Luke had been suspended for the remainder of the season because he got busted for hosting a party and also because one of the players had snitched about him harassing Ashton and Calum. It was justice, Ashton thought. It wasn't enough for Calum, but it was all that the university and coach could do.

Luke had left them all alone for the most part, which was definitely a good riddance. They didn't go to anymore frat parties and the twins had switched to a different frat once spring rush came around. There was zero contact with Luke other than Calum having to go to practices and captain transfer meetings. That was the unfortunate part of Luke having his captain title taken away and given to Calum, but they didn't really speak to each other. They didn't have to. It was just a seminar that they had to go through and it was only three meetings worth. Either way, he left them alone and let them be happy.

After the seven months that have gone by since Ashton had arrived at the University of Melbourne. He hadn't been happy for the first three - it had felt like the biggest mistake of his life. He didn't think that it would get better and he thought that he would hate university forever. But it quickly turned around and now Ashton was so grateful that he had chosen Melbourne. He wouldn't have experienced the things he had or met the people he's now calling his best friends. His life went from being alone to having a solid group of people that was surrounding him and supporting him. It turned from potentially the worst choice to the second best choice that he had ever made.

The first best choice was falling in love with his roommate.

\----


End file.
